Surrounded By Hatchlings
by myboygeorge
Summary: Babies, babies everywhere!  Between Castle & Beckett's first one and another one for Ryan & Honey-Milk, everyone's got stork fever in the Crumbsverse.  M, of course, for all those procreating scenes.  Final chapter is up!
1. CasBeck Conception

It was February fourteenth and Kate Beckett was ready to kick some serious ass. She and her boys had caught a gruesome bloodbath of a crime-scene - three roommates, all attractive single women in their late twenties and early thirties, had been found wearing nothing but white granny-panties and had arrows sticking out of their chests. Someone was not in a holiday spirit, it seemed, and it meant that all three of them had to nix dinner and other types of romantic plans with Meredeth, Honey-Milk and Castle that night as it was going to be a long day.

On top of which, Beckett had had a long at the calendar that morning when she'd be going through her bathroom routine and realized her body was a sperm-friendly zone for trying to conceive with Castle. Now it looked like that the optimum day for doing so was being put on blackout thanks to her job. What else was new?

'Missus Castle!'

Beckett's head snapped up from her reports on her desk and she seared Ryan with a snarling stare. 'Call me that again, Detective and I will fix it so Dell's an only child, got it?'

'Well, I called you Detective and you weren't responding.' The handsome Irishman eased a hip onto her desk. 'Got off the phone with the credit card people. Emily Stevens had a serious iTunes addiction, but neither her nor Thea Raymond had anything pop strange.'

'What about Shawna Prince?'

'She's only here on a work visa, her credit card's from somewhere in Toronto so Javi's tracking it down now. You okay, you seem a little...tense.'

'In case you didn't remember our little triple homicide this morning, on Valentine's no less, go refresh yourself.' Beckett gestured absently to the murder board she and Esposito had put together.

Ryan shook his head. 'No, that's not it. You get that charge out of an investigation the way we all do, and this one is more of a damn shame and piss off to our personal lives than anything. Castle being a jackass over the baby thing? Oh, wait, lemme guess.' Ryan did his best to keep a straight face, but to no avail. 'You and Castle were planning to make a little Cas-Beck?'

'Do you know how embarrassing it is that my murder investigation team knows that much about my personal life?'

'Haha, no. You don't get to whine to me about knowing too much personal info.' Ryan wagged his finger at his boss playfully. 'Or are you forgetting what happened at your summer place the day after your wedding?'

'How long are you going to play that card?'

'Until they make the next one,' Ryan replied instantly, then lowered his voice. He knew how excited Castle was about making a baby with Beckett, and how nervous the detective was about her body and her life changing so much. But he also knew from seeing the way she treated all the other little hatchlings of their rag-tag family she was unconsciously excited about it too. 'Kate, don't stress. It'll happen when it's meant to.'

The instinct was to tell Ryan to keep his Irish conk out of her personal life, but one look at those big blue eyes and she had a hard time following through on it. Instead she gave him a wan yet grateful smile. 'Thanks, Kevin.'

'Anytime.'

Her cell chirped at her, the Peter Gunn theme, and she picked up. 'Richard, tell me I don't have to stock up on ice cream for you being a basket case tonight.'

'No, not at all. Just wanted to tell you don't eat too heavy. I have a surprise for you when you get home.'

'You know that won't be until like at least eight or nine?'

'It'll wait. Love you.'

Beckett skid her glance over to Ryan, and murmured, 'Love you too,' before she hung up and gave her paperwork more than its due attention. She only had to hear Ryan open his mouth and she held up an index finger. 'Don't even think about it, Detective.'

'I didn't say a word.'

* * *

When she did make it home to SoHo, Beckett was ready for a cold drink and a hot shower, and if she could find the energy, hotter sex with her husband. Very hot baby-making sex. They'd turned up next to nothing on canvass, financial records and because phone companies loved them some bureaucracy, they had to wait until the judge's warrant was pushed through in the morning to get a crack at that data.

Sighing in frustrated impotence she unlocked the door and nearly wept.

The table was set to resemble a Parisian cafe, candlelight flickering over the walls as the strains of 'Le Festin' drifted softly in the air. The smell of butter and cheese and bread was rich in the air, all undercut with the scent of hyacinths, her favourite flowers. Dropping her bag by the door and tugging off her winter boots, Beckett walked in, saw the vase of them on the island along with a small wrapped gift. He did love to spoil her with bangles and sparkles.

'Welcome home, Detective.'

Beckett turned and felt the burdened-down soul she carried with her lighten exponentially. There he was, she mused, as he'd always been, with his patient eyes and unwavering love for her. He was all in black - loose pants, button-down shirt with an extra button popped and no socks, a look that always made her mouth water. He held up a single pink rose - not red, they'd had red at her mother's funeral and the link was forever forged in Beckett's mind - as she crossed to him.

'Happy hearts day.'

'And to you.'

'A rough one, huh?'

'Gory and so terribly sad at the same time.' She paused as he helped her with her coat, then turned to wrap her arms around his solid torso. 'I missed you there today.'

'Oh?'

'Yeah. You have respect for the job, for the victims and yet you'd find a way to keep us all from getting too down about it.'

'Like saying someone's using a Bon Jovi song as an MO for murder?'

Beckett laughed. 'Exactly. And I'm done with it for today. I need to put it aside. I want something happy.'

'Then you are in luck, because we have a gourmet meal prepared by yours truly.'

'In a minute.'

She stood on her tip toes to kiss him and felt the sizzle fry away the remnants of her long and trying day. He had that power over her, the ability to give her whatever she needed to feel and though she didn't know it, she did so for him too. Her fingers went to his buttons and flipped them open so she could touch his body, warm and real.

'Oh!' Castle jumped a little at the feel of her hands on his body. 'You've got cold fingers, Detective.'

'I know where you'd like me to put them to get them warm, I bet.'

'Actually...' Castle nibbled her soft skin, caught her earlobe lightly in his teeth. 'I was thinking I'd just get you hot all over.'

For Beckett, that did it. The worry of the day was gone and there was only the two of them now, in their warm loft on a chilly February night. She shoved impatiently at his shirt so he was only in his pants and attacked his mouth with sticky, heated kisses. His hands searched for her flesh under her blouse and a few seconds later it hit the floor over his shoulder.

She was so slim and delicate, deceptively so, because Castle knew her to be anything but delicate. Fragile, certainly, as all women could be, but her skin covered a body toned and disciplined and it made him want to bite her in places that would most definitely make her squeak in delight. But that kind of love could wait. It was Valentine's and even if fate decided for them to make love on the kitchen floor, they would still make it beautifully.

Reaching behind her back, Beckett unsnapped her bra, the need for her skin against his growing with every second. He turned her so they were spooned together; her head lolled to the side as he made a path of kisses from her jawline to the curve of her shoulder, and her body responded with a shiver. God, he was so good, she thought. 'Rich,' she murmured, 'I love you.'

'I love you too, Katie.'

Beckett grinned at his use of the pet name for her, then gasped when those clever hands closed over her breasts, massaging gently before his thumbs scraped over her hardened nipples. White-hot lust burned in her chest as her knees threatened to buckle, and turning around, she fumbled with his belt and zipper, shoving at his pants until he was naked in front of her.

'Why the rush?' he murmured. 'I plan to take my time with you tonight.'

His words at her slowing down, for which he was thankful. As much as Castle loved the fast and furiously wanton coupling he knew they were capable of, it was the right thing for tonight. He pulled her close, and kissing her brow, pulled her over to the sectional couch where he lowered her to her back beneath him. The snug vee of her thighs fit against where he grew hard for her, and he tugged off her socks one at a time, then peeled her jeans down. He thought he blacked out a moment when he ran his hands up her legs, cupping her bottom and realized she'd worn a black thong to work under her clothes.

'You're not the only one who can tease,' she murmured as she saw his eyes glaze over in anticipation; hers closed in reflex as she felt him tug the fabric over her hips so they were both naked in front of the fire crackling and snapping. Then she let out a gasp those skilled hands streaked up her legs and brushed where she already was damp and waiting for her. 'Rich,' she moaned, 'more.'

'Anything for you.'

But he wouldn't just touch her tonight, Castle thought, taking one long slim leg of hers and hooking it by the ankle over the back of the sofa to give him better access. Dipping his head, he started at her ankle, kissing his way up the silk-smooth texture of it until he hit the jackpot. She'd always said he had a clever tongue and he loved demonstrating that it a very up-close and personal way. Her sighed demands, whispered pleasures turned him to granite and knew when she was this ready for him, it was only a matter of time before the animal took over.

Beckett felt her nerves dissolve under her skin, every muscle in her body loose, then tight as he laved at her, making her whimper and moan for him. He was the most exiting lover she'd ever had and had always known from that first kiss and their first night together he was it for her. Her fingers twined through his dark hair to keep him there and as she felt the avalanche of the orgasm begin to tumble into her body, then felt his hands cover hers and twine together. He moved up her body while he raised their joined hands above her head. A satisfied smile painted his lips - a look she was sure mirrored on her own face - as he kissed her and sank inside her.

'Kate, open your eyes,' he murmured, and saw those dark embers burning inside her. He wrapped her legs around his hips, then cupping her breast where he felt her heart beat, began to move inside her.

She watched him the entire time, until their mouths fused and they came together on a strangled cry of passion.

Still steeped in her, Castle rubbed his hand over her skin, pecked at her lips. 'Kate,' he huffed, 'I love you.'

'I love you too.' She smiled at him, then wriggled a little.

'And?'

'And I'm freakin' starving, you told me not to eat at the precinct so I didn't.'

'Well, I've already eaten,' he started, getting a friendly smack upside his head. 'I'm kidding. I cooked you a little surprise. You want to go get a robe?'

'Why?'

Castle could only stare. 'Naked dinner? Now I really love you.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	2. Seduction Sweet as Honey

Esposito and Beckett weren't the only ones from the Twelfth Precinct with romance on the brain. Kevin Ryan had been waiting for this day for almost a month - between Dell having been sick and Honey-Milk on nights, they hadn't had as much time together as neither of them wanted. It made him envy his partner a little that his wife worked from home and she was there nine times of out ten whenever his job had him rolling in at weird hours.

But now, finally, the glorious turning point was here and he had it perfectly planned out. Okay not perfectly planned out, as they'd had to dally around the curve-ball of the case he'd caught that morning. Dell was still at his parents' place in the Bronx, visiting with his cousins, but he'd called up the the place where he had booked him and his bride to have their romantic dinner for two and switched their reservation to a take-out order; he'd also stopped in and grabbed a bottle each of red and white wine, unsure of what she'd be in the mood for as per her request for the . It might not have seemed terribly romantic to a lot of people, but for him, this plan was a near-perfect repetition of one of his top five most cherished memories he had of his relationship with his wife - he and Honey-Milk had been out for Chinese food to the Lotus Room, a suit-and-jacket place that did real Chinese and not the take-out they survived on when working late in the bullpen. When he'd watched her apologize to the snow-crab she'd selected from the tank for her steamed dumplings and rangoon, only to dive in with unmitigated glee as their food was served, that was the moment he'd realized he was absolutely one hundred percent in love with Jennifer Agatha 'Honey-Milk Delaney and would one day make her Jennifer Agatha 'Honey-Milk' Ryan.

They wouldn't be able to perfectly replicate that meal tonight since he'd become a vegetarian, but it was close enough, as his Honey-Milk would more than likely focus on the sentiment behind it rather than the minutia of the fact he'd ordered the tofu Kung Pao instead of chicken, and that meant he would be getting very lucky, as would she.

He unlocked the front door and stepped in, noticing the scent in the air. It was blossomy, to borrow a word from Castle, like they were on a summer veranda by the lake; probably from a bubble bath she'd taken earlier. Honey-Milk always loved taking a bath when she really wanted to put her man in the mood for some loving.

'Jenny, I'm home and I brought a little treat with me,' he called out. When he heard no response, he yawned, then heard the unmistakable crinkle of paper when he put the bag of food on the table by the couch. Looking underneath, he saw his wife's fancy handwriting.

_Hey handsome. Lose the winter gear_.

Since he'd already done so, he walked into the kitchen with the wine in one hand and the take-out bag in the other. He set the bag down and again heard the paper, found another note.

_Now lose the suit jacket and tie_.

Too amused by this little treasure hunt to do otherwise, he left his jacket and tie on the kitchen table by the bag of food, then went to get a corkscrew for the wine to find yet another note.

_Say bye-bye belt and socks._

'What are you up to, Jenn,' he murmured, the grin spreading and the blood swimming brightly in his brain, despite the long day he'd had. His bride always had the most innovative ways of seducing him and tonight was no exception. Complying, he took them both off, then went on to find yet another note when he got the wine glasses out of the cupboard.

_Take off your pants, Detective._

He grinned widely now, and knew what he'd probably find in his bedroom now. In his boxers, he left the kitchen and stopped short to find one more note for him.

_So long, skivvies_

Setting down the wine and glasses, Ryan shimmied out of his boxers so he was completely naked but for his hair-gel and wedding ring, then picked the bottle back up, and turning the doorknob, entered his bedroom. The sight that met him was one of such sweet passion he wondered how he didn't lose his mind.

Honey-Milk sat in the middle of the bed with a black satin sheet wrapped artfully around her body so that it was obvious she was nude and was teasing him by covering up her fun bits. She'd made her mouth glossy and pouty, done something to her eyes so they were round and dark with desire for him. Her button nose wrinkled in the sexiest-cute way possible as she puckered up those glossy, pouty lips and purred, 'Is that a wine bottle in your hands, Kev, or are you just happy to see me?'

'Hello, nurse.' On a flustered laugh, Ryan walked over to his wife, kneeling on the bed in front of her. 'I almost don't want to touch you and get you all...smudgy.'

'If you want,' Honey-Milk replied, getting to her knees and letting the sheet drop so their bodies pressed together, 'I can do all the touching myself.'

'Oh...my...'

It was all he could manage before Ryan lips' crushed down on hers. She was his Honey-Milk, he thought absently, always intoxicating and ever surprising, all wrapped up in an adorable little pixie with blonde hair that loved him even when he didn't like himself. He pulled her petite body against his, drinking in the scent of her - lilacs and Dove soap - then moved so she was underneath him, her legs shifting so her body cradled him. He heard her muffled squeak of delight.

'Happy Valentine's indeed,' she breathed, feeling his erection against her body so intimately. The knowledge she could make him feel that was powerful and seductive all at once. She pulled him tight against her body, nipping at that sexy lower lip of his. It was one of her favourite features of his body, and she traced the outline of it with her tongue, making him groan. 'Mm, Kev, do what you want.'

'Anything I want?'

'Anything.'

Ryan licked his way down her throat, pleased when she whimpered a little. 'Dangerous words.'

He slipped down her body, the satin bunched under her back, tracing hot kisses over her breasts, his hands sliding up to cup and squeeze her. She was his perfect handful, he thought, and gave his attention to one using only his lips on the hard point of her nipple, a move he knew would make her go crazy for him. He heard the strangled cry in her throat, felt her nails dig into his shoulders, then shot her into orbit as he tongue grazed one then the other.

'Jesus, Kev,' she groaned, not worrying about being too loud tonight. 'Again.'

Ryan traced his fingertips over the dampened nub of flesh, felt her grow wet for him where he pressed against her. He knew this required a little control because his little sex-bomb could, and had, orgasmed from his mouth on her breasts alone. 'You said I get to do anything I want.'

He stroked his palm over her breasts, then down the centre of her torso; with a shift of his body ever so slightly, he found where she waited for him and slipped his fingers inside her, drawing them out slowly so as to make her whimper loudly for him.

It was too much, Honey-Milk thought, too much for one person to feel all of that at once, and yet somehow she did. She felt him brush against her trigger and choked on her own breath when his left the pad of his thumb there. She kissed him, his blue eyes bright with need for her, his mouth capturing her cry of ecstasy.

'Kevin,' she whispered in a sex-drenched voice, 'fuck me, please I want you inside me.'

The words nearly made him lose his cool, but Ryan managed to keep it together as he adjusted himself, and closed her hand around him so she could guide him in. He was barely there when he slid fully into her, so hot and slippery for him. Keeping his hands on her thighs he stroked her deeply, slowly because he knew she wanted it fast.

Honey-Milk felt the pressure in her chest deepen and grow, friction so delicious she could barely think. Then she was spinning out of control, mind reeling and senses flying high. She moaned out her husband's name, high praise of his talent as she rose the crest of one orgasm into the next one and watched his face as he began to tremble and fell with her over the cliff into delirious pleasure.

It was a while before either spoke beyond a few incomprehensible syllables, had the brain power to do so. Ryan could have gladly spent the next year right like that, with his wife's heartbeat thundering under his ear as he lay face down on her chest, her sturdy yet sensitive hands stroking the back of his neck.

'That was amazing,' he murmured, kiss the undercurve of Honey-Milk's breast. 'Great way to get rid of a shitty day at work.'

'When you called and said it was a triple-header, I figured you'd want to come home to some really good lovin',' Honey-Milk replied.

'You figured right.'

'Did I smell dim sum when you came in?'

'Maybe.' Turning so his chin rested on her breastbone and he could see that sleepily sexy and satisfied look on his wife's face, Ryan winked at her. 'I was going to take you to the Lotus Room tonight, but we're going to settle for their takeout instead.'

'Settle, hell, the take-out would have been perfect on its own.'

'I love you, Jenn.'

'I love you too, Kev.'

'Wanna eat naked?'

'Actually, I was thinking, we could have a shower then get dressed and eat...and then rip each others' clothes off, since we were both naked to start the first time around tonight.'

'That sounds even better.'

* * *

As promised they showered, dressed and were eating Chinese food with Chilean white wine by candle-light - Pacific style stir-fry with chow-mein noodles for her and tofu Kung-Pao with Buddhist delight for him - as Ryan filled her in on the details of the case.

'Did you guys check the underwear drawers of all three victims?' she asked, popping in a cube of sauteed mushroom.

'Yeah, and that's where it gets even stranger, because not one of the three women owned panties like that which means the killer got them naked, changed into that underwear and then shot them with the arrows.'

'Or they were dead first and he posed them like that. Either way, it's really freakin' weird.'

'Speaking of weird...' Ryan paused for a sip of water. 'Did it feel weird to be actually planning sex with making another baby in mind, considering Dell wasn't exactly on the menu when we made him?'

'A little. Mostly, I like that we can do it whenever and however we want, we don't have to settle for a pet or something, you know?'

'There is that.' Ryan thought of how Esposito had bragged about it over Texas Hold'Em when he and Meredeth had started trying for a baby, and now understood why his partner could hardly keep it in his pants, metaphorically or otherwise. 'I think Kate's getting a little anxious about the whole idea of procreating, in a good way, you know?'

'Aw that's so sweet.'

'Any mommy-like tips I can pass on to her at work on Saturday?'

'Tell her that babies are made when they want to be made, and stressing never helps.'

'Good idea. We weren't even trying before and look what happened.'

'Exactly.' Now it was Honey-Milk's turn to pause. 'Kevin you know that it might take us a try or two, right?'

'Oh I know, but still, you gotta admit the practicing to get us there is a lot of fun, isn't it?'

'For sure.'

'In fact...are you done with that?' He pointed to her plate, nabbed it when she nodded. Hauling her up out of her seat, Ryan boosted his wife up, then laid her on the kitchen table. 'We haven't done this one in awhile.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	3. Just Like Hot Wings: 7 Weeks

On the Monday morning after Easter weekend, Beckett decided to take refuge at her desk. Just as well, because she felt like shit. She was groggy and grossly bloated feeling, and because there were so few women on her floor now, there was no way she could nip into the ladies' room and pass gas without it being obvious she'd done the deed. Either that, or she was going to make a break for it and lose her morning orange juice.

And yet, she had the unshakable urge for coleslaw. Cool, crisp and creamy, loaded with cayenne and black pepper, a thought which terrified her. Was this how women started recognizing the signs of pregnancy? Was this how Lanie and Honey-Milk and Meredeth had all known? Or was she being a paranoid suck?

'Yo, Beckett, check it out!'

Esposito held his phone under her nose, showed her the snapshot he'd taken of the crowd waiting at the subway stop by his house in Chelsea. 'Buncha boneheads thinking they'll get to the bars quicker the earlier they get to Penn Station. You'd think it's Saint Patty's or something, not a college basketball game.'

'Great.'

'Oh and Tessi's birthday party is on Saturday, you going to make it?'

'Yeah, we have to pick Alexis up at the airport at noon, but then we'll be there.'

'We're doing all Italian, easier to manage with so many vegetarians in the house, you know? And what kid doesn't love mac-and-cheese?'

'Fantastic.'

'What's up?' Esposito heard the strain in his boss' voice, and recognized it well; his own sweet bride had used the same clenched-jaw control when she'd had...'Kate,' he hissed in a low whisper, 'you pregnant?'

'What?'

'You got the same look Meredeth had when she had her little bit of morning sickness last summer, and you definitely look like Lanie did when she didn't know she was carrying Carey.' Unable to stop the grin, Esposito scratched his cheek. 'How late are you?'

'Oh my god!'

Embarrassed beyond recognition, Beckett surged to her feet and stormed into the break room where two uniforms were fixing their coffees. 'Out,' she barked, then set about making herself a decaf espresso, something Castle insisted she'd switch to once they'd made the decision to start actively trying for a baby.

'Kate, I'm sorry.' Esposito had tried for funny and wound up with egg on his face. 'Really, I am, I just thought since you've got that glassy, pale look and I'm a father myself now...it was a logical leap for me, okay?'

'Hey, what'd I miss?'

Castle, who'd been at a meeting with his publisher for the better part of the morning, sauntered into the breakroom and felt his instincts about his wife being upset thrum. 'Kate, everything alright?'

When she simply shook her head, sank onto the worn couch, Castle glanced at Esposito. 'What happened?'

'I was teasing her that she looked like she had morning sickness symptoms and she flipped.'

'Ah.'

'It's not your fault, Espo,' Beckett muttered. 'I'm just...I'm scared.'

'Hey, I was too, you know, it's a big one. I can't even begin to-'

'No, not that. I'm scared...I'm scared I'm wrong,' she confessed, putting her hand to her eyes. It had been a shock to her entire being to realize that's what had been freaking her out all morning every time she thought of coleslaw. 'I took a test this morning, Richard, but it was wavy, I wasn't a hundred percent, so I...brought one with here to try a little while later.'

'It's later now.'

Crossing to his wife and knowing that there wasn't much he could do for her except make soothing noises, Castle embraced her, held her close. 'Espo and I, we're here for you. Is it in your desk?'

'Yeah.'

'Go take it, we'll cover for you.'

Beckett nodded, then did something that let both men know just how shaken she was - she planted a sweet kiss on Castle's lips before she left.

They watched her go, then busied themselves at Brewster, making lattes and trying not to worry about the hell Beckett would go through in the next three minutes.

'Beckett said you guys are picking Alexis up on Saturday? Are all three coming to Tessi's birthday?'

'Yeah, we'll be there. Wow, Tessi's going to be one already,' Castle sighed wistfully. 'Where did that year go, man?'

'You're telling me. If you really want a head-breaker, Dell's going to be four on his next birthday.'

'And before you know it, you and Ryan will be wedding planning.'

Esposito laughed, stirred steamed milk into his coffee. 'You think so?'

'Well anything's possible, but mostly, it's just fun to tease Ryan. You think he'll be a spaz-case again when he and Honey-Milk have their second one?'

'Hard to say,' Esposito started, then was cut off by the flurry of movement outside. He had three seconds to register it was Beckett before she came flying into the break room and launched herself into Castle's arms.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa, Kate, take it easy.'

'I love you,' she said in a voice so shaky, both men realized another rarity was taking place - Beckett was crying at work.

'So? What's the word?' Castle asked hesitantly.'

'Yes,' she murmured, rearing back and giving him a hard kiss on the mouth. She took the stick from her pocket and held it up for him to see. 'Yes.'

Castle stared at the window on the EPT and felt his world tilt. There is was, in crystal clear digital readout. _Pregnant_.

'Oh my god. Oh my god! Kate!' Castle scooped her back up in his arms, held her close. 'Kate!'

'I know!'

'What's all this?' Having heard the disturbance, Montgomery came into the break room and saw his top cop, his rock-steady leader, weeping and being hugged by Detective Esposito. 'Did I miss something.'

'No, sir.' Beckett took a bracing breath, and grinned as Castle wrapped his arms around her from behind, one hand low on her belly. 'I...I'm pregnant.'

* * *

As Montgomery had done with Esposito and Meredeth, he gave Beckett and Castle the rest of the afternoon to spend for themselves, to take another test and to book an appointment with Doctor Phillips, one of the best OBGYN's in the city. Not very surprisingly, Beckett found herself a little disappointed that she had to wait until Thursday to see the little life she'd made with Castle. They hadn't told Martha, Alexis or Jim yet, mostly because they wanted the solid proof of it - the sonogram - to show off so that when they made the announcement, it would feel all the more real to everyone.

The waiting, Beckett discovered, was hell, the waiting for Thursday to arrive, for the subway to the hospital, the waiting for the doctor to come in. Even the waiting to wait, she thought, laying flat on her back and staring at the ceiling of the exam room.

'You nervous?'

'A little. I mean there's so much to think of, you know?'

'There is.'

'Not the baby part, I mean, that's going to be amazing and you've already been through it so if I have a freak-out it's not going to be a huge...whatever you know?'

Castle laughed. He loved his wife but a wordsmith she was not. 'You're thinking of your job.'

'I know the guys will be hugely awesome and supportive, just like we all were with Lanie, but-'

'You're thinking of what happened to Lanie when she got shoved around.'

Beckett nodded. 'I don't want to be on desk work for the next seven or whatever months, but if something happened that I was chasing down a suspect, and-'

'Kate, Kate, Kate, it's okay, I'm sure you'll be able to have this discussion with the captain and your boys, work out some kind of arrangement. for the first few months at least.' Castle wheeled himself over to take her hand, kissed her wrist. 'You're still a cop but you're allowed to be a human being too.'

'Love you.'

'Love you too.' Castle paused a moment. 'Does this mean I get to call you Margie?'

'Margie?'

'Frances McDormand in Fargo, you know 'I'm working with ya here, Margie,' Castle tried in his best impersonation of William H. Macy. 'No?'

'Oh, that's the one with the pregnant cop?'

'God save me, how did I marry a woman with such little knowledge of Coen Brothers films?' he laughed, then leaned in to kiss her. THey were interrupted by a cough and a knock on the door.

'I see you're already starting on a little brother or sister for Alexis,' Doctor Phillips said with a smile in her voice, and to their utter shock, saw Honey-Milk follow her into the room. 'I've also brought with me-'

'It's okay, you don't need to introduce me to one of my best friends,' Beckett smiled. 'How's it going Jenn?'

'Good, tiring but good. A lot to learn in the last stretch of my certification before exams in May.'

'So you're still at Saint V's?'

Honey-Milk nodded. 'It's closer to home and I like the people I'm with there. Shall we get started?'

When Beckett nodded, Phillips passed her chart to Honey-Milk and snapped on latex gloves. 'We'll start with the standard physical, a short pelvic and then we'll take your baby's first picture.'

Beckett closed her eyes, let herself concentrate on the feel of Castle's fingers in her hand rather than Phillips' gloved ones poking at her. Finally, there was the moment of truth. Phillips lifted up her gown to smear the blue gel over her lower abdomen, then switched on the machine. At once the room was filled with that rapid echoing sound and Beckett propped herself to her elbows. She held out her hand and felt Castle's there gripping it tightly, excitedly.

'Richard, look at that! Oh, it's so beautiful.'

'Um, Mrs. Castle, that's your bladder,' Phillips chuckled when she saw Beckett's look of embarrassment. 'It's okay, I've had some women start singing 'Baby Mine' to their kidneys. They don't truly understand how small these things really start out.' She paused her movement of the wand, pointed to the flickering in the middle of the screen, hardly bigger than a grain of rice with a flickering centre. 'That's your baby.'

'That's it? But it's so tiny!'

'That's how they start out, my sweet,' Castle managed with a tear-clogged voice.

Beckett could only stare at it. That was the little one giving her stomach such hell. 'Hi there, tiny,' was all she could think of to say.

'From the size of it, I'd say you're at about seven weeks, give or take, so your due date is around the nineteenth of November.'

Honey-Milk brushed away a little tear from the corner of her eye; unable to hold it in, she tapped the doctor on the shoulder.

'Doctor Phillips, do you mind if I have a moment with my friends?'

'Not at all, I'll be back in a few minutes.'

Honey-Milk waited until Phillips had left before she shut the door and burst out laughing. 'Oh my god, this is too much!'

'I know. I can't believe I'm going to be a mom, Jenny.'

'No, not just that, it's just...you're pregnant and so am I.'

Now it was Beckett's turn to look shocked. 'What? You are?'

'Uh-huh, I just had Phillips do the test for me yesterday. Ryan and I have been wanting another baby since Dell was about two but the timing was never right, so we waited and we started trying back around Hallowe'en again, and Valentine's Day, it just worked.'

'When are you due?'

'Same day as you. November nineteen.'

Castle looked at Beckett, who looked at Honey-Milk. 'Oh god, you know what this probably means?'

'Uh-huh.' The knowledge of it had Honey-Milk pressing her lips together and trying not to laugh. 'We both got knocked-up on Valentine's.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	4. Telling Tales

_Hello everyone! Glad to see such a great response for this installment of the Crumbsverse! And thanks to those of you who caught my month switcheroo, it is now fixed! Enjoy!_

* * *

By five that afternoon, Beckett was thoroughly exhausted and yet couldn't relax. They'd left the hospital with their sonogram, and hit the bookstore to stock up on the essential reading material. They'd also called Ryan and Lanie to tell them the good news and let them spread the word amongst their remaining friends. As expected, both were ecstatic and couldn't wait to shower them with love and attention; Lanie had already started making plans for a baby-shower.

Now they were home and after a quick celebratory recreation of the conception - the only way to go, according to the wit and wisdom of Javier Esposito - she kept on thinking of the little printout in her purse and how Alexis was going to react when they Skype-called her.

'What do you think she's going to say?' Beckett asked from her spot at the island. 'You think she'll be excited or will she feel left out? I mean, I can't imagine what it would be like to be twenty and find out you're getting a new baby brother or sister.'

'You keep worrying like this, you're going to give that embryo wrinkles,' Castle commented as he put water on to boil for pasta. He was going to make her one of her favourites - _farfalle di pollo arribiata_ - as he knew pasta to be a great comfort food to her. 'I think she's going to love the idea of it, and yeah, I'm sure there's a part of her that'll feel a little apprehensive but Alexis has been a cheerleader for us to have a family together for a lot longer than you might imagine.'

'Really?'

Castle nodded. He remembered having this conversation one-on-one with Alexis back at Christmas, when they'd told her that he and Beckett were going to start trying to have a family. 'She'd kill me if she knew I told you this before she got to, but...Alexis thinks that it would make us truly a family, because then she'd be blood-bonded to you. Her words, I might add.'

'Oh, man.' Beckett could actually feel the yanking on her heart-strings. 'Like I'd really be her mother?'

'Yeah, basically.'

'Okay, that does it. Where's the laptop?'

Beckett hopped off her chair and went to get the computer, then set the sonogram beside her on the counter. 'Leave the food for a moment and come over here with me.'

She pulled up the Skype program and dialed Alexis' number. It was answered by JP, Alexis boyfriend, a studious but outgoing young man they'd met this way on numerous occasions. His brown eyes were warm and friendly and he spoke with the faintest hint of an accent, the result of English lessons since he was in primary school.

'Good evening Madam and Monsieur Castle, how is the weather in New York?'

'Just fine JP, is Alexis there?'

'She is in the toilets, a moment please.'

'Still wanna kick his ass for putting his hands on my baby,' Castle muttered, then brightened instantly when his daughter sat down in front of the web cam.

'Hey guys! I was going to call you later. What's going on?'

'There's someone here who wants to say hello, Lex.' Grinning now, Beckett picked up the sonogram and put it in view of the webcam. The reaction was nearly identical to when they'd announced to Alexis that they were going to get married.

'No way! No freakin' way! I get a little brother or sister! That is...oh, congrats Mom and Dad!'

The words had Beckett's throat clogging, so Castle picked up the torch while his bride and baby-mama pulled it together. 'It'll be here at the end of November, the nineteenth was the day the doctor gave us.'

'Oh no! No, I want to be there for it! I want to be there helping with the breathing and fetching ice!'

'I know sweetie, but your schooling is important too, you know.'

'I'll work it out.' Chin set with determination, Alexis nodded. 'I am not missing this. Have you told Grams yet?'

'Told me what?'

Beckett and Castle glanced over to see Martha strolling in in her pre-spring finest, tugging off leather gloves and smiling brightly. 'Is that my girl on the computer phone?'

'Grams! You gotta hear this!' Alexis yelled joyfully from her end of the connection.

'What, that Kate and your father are having a baby?' Martha's eyes twinkled as her son and daughter-in-law's jaws drop to the floor. 'I've known for days, I recognize the signs well enough.'

'Why didn't you say anything?' Castle asked as his mother hugged him tightly.

'Not my place, darling/ A woman always has to announce her first baby, hell any baby, in her own time and way.'

'Mom, Dad, I love you both, but I have to run, I have to get to study group, okay? I'll talk when I'm home. Love you both!'

Alexis' connection dropped, leaving the parents-to-be focused on the other flamboyant redhead in the room, who'd wandered into the kitchen and shut off the pot of boiling water, then pulled out her cellphone.

'Marcel, it's Martha. I'm well thank you and in need of a table for four at seven thirty. Excellent, we'll see you then.'

'Mom, I-'

'Richard, dear, this is a cause for celebration and I'm taking you and my daughter-in-law out for dinner. No champagne for you, though, Miss Kate.'

Beckett grinned, then blinked. 'Wait, you said four.'

'I did. Call your father up and tell him to meet us at Petit Paris on Broadway and Fifty-First at seven-thirty.'

Her father. Beckett's head spun for what felt like the thousandth time that day. In all the melee of emotions and announcing, she'd almost left out a very important person.

Picking up the hand-set for the houseline, Beckett dialed her father's number. 'Daddy? It's me. I'm just great, and I have some big news for you.'

* * *

'So how are we gonna do this?'

'Still haven't a clue.'

'Isn't that why we waited a day, to kinda figure out a plan of attack?'

Ryan looked at his wife in the elevator of Saint Vincent's pediatric ward. 'I thought we already decided we'd be straightforward and honest with him.'

'But where's the line between fairy tale and over-share?'

The elevator dinged and they stepped off together, hand-in-hand, as they walked towards the rooms used for the staff preschool. Ryan had lucked out that his shift had ended in sync with his wife's and they were on their way to pick up their son together, and with each step, he felt a queasy sense of excited dread. Dell was a friendly little guy but Ryan also knew he was used to being the centre of attention at home, and how would he feel about having to share the limeight with his younger brother or sister?

Honey-Milk opened the door into the world of children busy at their post-dinner activities; a quick scan of the room showed her that Dell was just finishing getting his post-meal insulin dose from one of the nurses. Her big boy, she thought, so brave to handle those needles at such a young age. Shouldering her bag of work-clothes for laundering, she walked over and watched him proudly wrap the band-aid decorated in dinosaurs around his finger.

'I think we're going to need more of those fancy band-aids at home, aren't we?' she said, and Dell glanced over at the sound of her voice. His eyes, bright and blue and round like his daddy's glowed at seeing his mother and he wriggled out of the chair.

'Thank you, Nurse Nancy,' he told the woman, then hugged his mother around the knees. 'Mama, hi Mama! Daddy here too?'

'He is.'

Dell was off like a shot and took a flying leap into Ryan's arms. He loved the smell of his dad, the light sweat and scent of Castle's coffee was home to him. 'Daddy! We play puppets today! I'm a duh-ragon!'

'I'd expect nothing less, little bro.'

'I no little, I am big now,' Dell said with a mock pout.

'Of course you are.'

'So, I was thinking,' Honey-Milk told her boys, 'since it's getting warmer out, why don't we go to Roscoe's for ice cream tonight?'

'Ice cuh-ream yummy. Can Tessi come?'

'No, she's already having dinner at home with her mommy and daddy, but we get to see her on Saturday for her birthday, remember?'

'A-puh-ril ten. I rem'ber.'

Ryan watched Honey-Milk and Dell chatter about ice cream all the way to the scoop-shop, a favourite place of theirs as it served diabetic friendly flavours. They each picked their poison, and once they were settled into a table in the corner, Dell between his parents and wielding his spoon with caution, Ryan nodded at Honey-Milk and they took the plunge.

'So, Dell, Mommy and Daddy have something very important to tell you,' Honey-Milk said in her soft but firm tone that had Dell sitting still and focusing on her. 'Remember how Meredeth grew Tessi inside her tummy and Lanie has another baby inside?'

'Yes. She guh-rowing new baby for Carey.'

'Well, sweetie, Mommy's growing another one inside her tummy, too.'

Dell blinked. 'A new baby?'

'Yes. You'll have a little brother or sister about a month before Christmas.'

Honey-Milk and Ryan both held their breath. They hadn't expected Dell's face to crumble up and for him to start sniffling. 'Hey, what's wrong, little guy?' Completely unnerved, Ryan plucked Dell off his chair, dabbed at his tears with a napkin.

'I am not good?'

'What?'

'I need nee-dells. I am not good? You wan' a bet-ter baby?'

'Oh honey.' Shattered, Honey-Milk had to bite the inside of her cheek so she wouldn't burst into tears herself. 'You listen to me, Thomas Delaney Ryan. You are a wonderful little boy and Mommy and Daddy love you, and we love each other, and we love each other so much that all that love made another baby for you to love and protect.'

'This little baby is going to need you just as much as we do,' Ryan added. 'Who's going to show him or her how to play Legos or teach them about dinosaurs, or help Mommy like you help Meredeth and Javi with Tessi?'

'I help Mommy,' Dell said, his sniffles subsiding. 'I am a big boy, I help a lot.'

'Exactly.'

'You suh-till love me?'

Now it was Ryan's turn to get choked up. Why hadn't they anticipated this? They'd always treated Dell as a normal child, not some sick invalid and yet the boy thought they wanted to replace him because his needles somehow made him defective. 'Of course Dell, we never stopped loving you.'

'Tessi suh-till love me?'

'Yes, she does,' Honey-Milk laughed, let a little droplet slip out when Dell reach over and patted her stomach.

'Hi, baby. I am Dell Ryan, you a Ryan too.' Dell moved his hand around, frowned. 'I can' feel it. You sure it there?'

'He or she is still very little.'

'How he or she get inside?'

Honey-Milk and Ryan exchanged glances, glad to laugh a little bit after that unexpected turn. After that outburst, the cliche baby-talk was a snap. 'That's a good question, Dell,' Ryan said. 'The little baby got inside there because Mommy and Daddy love each other very much and each have a tiny little seed inside of them and when they love each other, those seeds make a baby that Mommy grows inside her.'

'I love Tessi, an' she love me, she have a baby soon too?'

'No, you have to be much much bigger, like Mommy and Daddy.'

'Oh. Okay.' Satisfied with this explanation, Dell rubbed his hand over his mother's stomach again. 'He or she gonna get bigger?'

'Yes, they start out small like a snowflake and then get much bigger, just like rolling a snowball.'

'Okay. Hi suh-now-ball. I keep you safe.' Feeling much better now that he knew he wasn't being replaced, Dell looked up at his parents and smiled. 'I gonna be a guh-reat big buh-rother.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	5. Caring & Sharing: 10 Weeks

'Mama.'

'What is it, Dell?'

'Mama, duh-rink you' milk.'

Honey-Milk squinted her eyes open, saw Dell was standing there with one of his small red plastic cups filled almost to the brim with ice cold two-percent milk. 'Oh, sweetie, thank you.'

'Daddy say you need milk fo' suh-now-fuh-lake.'

'He's right I do.'

'Wasgonon?' Ryan's words were slurred with sleep as he tried to focus in the dark. He'd fallen asleep with his arm draped over Honey-Milk's body, his hand protective over where the next member of the Ryan clan was percolating. 'Dell?'

'Mama and suh-now-fuh-lake need a duh-rink of milk.'

'Dell, it's...lord, it's not even seven-thirty.'

'Sor-ry.' Dell put the cup on the bedside table, careful not to spill. 'How baby feelin' this mornin'?'

'Tired. Baby and Mommy need to sleep still, sweetie.' Honey-Milk reached out and tousled her son's dark blond curls. 'But Daddy might not have to work today so we can spend the whole day together.'

'Yea! We see my Tessi, puh-lay with new toys?'

'Maybe. Tessi and her family might have plans already today.'

Dell pouted but understood: having two parents who worked shift work, he knew from a very young age that it wasn't always going to go according to plan. 'Mama?'

'Yes, sweetie.'

'I sorry for gettin' sad about baby.'

'Aw.' Now Honey-Milk sat up, and put Dell in her lap while Ryan continued to saw them off like a champion. 'It's okay to be confused about your feelings from time to time. It happens to everyone.'

'Even Tessi?'

'Yes, even Tessi. You really like her don't you?'

'She is the best.' Dell lowered his voice to a conspirator's whisper. 'She is my suh-wee-hot.'

'That's wonderful, Dell.'

'You Daddy's suh-wee-hot, right?' Dell had learned the word from Alexis Castle, a fairy princess of a woman in his three-year-old mind, and Dell couldn't resist repeating it.

'I sure am, and he's mine.'

'I'm what?' Ryan sat up, scratching his chest and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

'You are Mama's suh-wee-hot.'

'Oh, you know it little bro, and I know who yours is. Her name starts with a T, doesn't it?'

Dell nodded and Ryan had to grin; the moment was cut short when his cell began to chirp in Esposito's custom ringtone at him. 'Duty calls,' he said with a wink. 'Ryan. Yeah, I'll see you in fifteen.'

He leaned over and gave Honey-Milk and Dell both kisses. 'Drink your milk, Jenn. Dell, whatever Mommy asks you to do, you do it, right?'

'Right.'

With a nod Ryan hit the shower and was waiting on the curb in front of his building when Esposito rolled up in the Crown Vic, sunshades already in place.

'Isn't April supposed to be full of rain?' he asked, as Ryan hopped in.

'I'll take sunshine any day if it means my feet stay dry.'

'You're awfully chipper.'

'Dell brought Jenny a glass of milk in bed this morning because he heard me saying it's good for the baby.'

'Cute kid.'

'Your future son-in-law,' Ryan joked as his partner weaved through early morning traffic. Even on Sundays, the supposed day of Christian rest, New York was alive and ticking. 'Any word on what we snagged?'

'Beckett said it's a double, and she sounded super pissed.'

'Could be the hormones, or Castle, or a combination of the two.'

'My money's on hormones.' Esposito saw the pandas and Beckett's ride by the warehouse entrance. 'Meredeth was nice and saved up all her preggo-crazy for a single day, then would release the hounds and she'd be good for a few week or two.'

'Jenny did too, only she had different stresses to deal with, like her mother thinking it was a shot-gun wedding and we lied about her due dates.'

'Either way, brace yourself.'

It was a good thing they'd both gotten the vibe, as when they saw the scene that awaited them, they braced for impact: Beckett was sitting in the driver's side of her car with the door open, her head between her knees as she breathed deeply.

'Morning, boss,' Esposito said in a non-committal tone.

Beckett spat on the ground vicious. 'Morning. You two head inside and we'll talk in a few.'

'You got it.'

She watched her boys go in the warehouse where they would find Lanie and Shane Waver and Perlmutter, all dealing with the remains of two people who'd been ceviche'd and scattered all over the spacious area. There was no doubt it was the murder scene, it had to be with all that blood, and Beckett had walked it, held out as long as she could before the stench of the bodies and the fluids they'd expelled had gotten the better of her. She'd been forced to march outside and because her ride was parked near an oil-drum trash-can, she bent double and vomited the bile that had accumulated in her stomach there.

Castle, of course, had been there to hold her hair back and for once she wasn't embarrassed by him touching her so intimately when they were on scene. He hadn't gone into the warehouse, on this one she wouldn't permit it; because he had such neater penmanship than he did, she'd ordered him to hang with the OCME assistants and take their dictation to label the various limbs and other sundry body parts they transported for examination out of the waterfront slaughterhouse. He'd done that and more, so that by the time Ryan and Esposito had rolled up, he'd finished the last of his assignment for the moment and came back to her.

'Damn morning sickness,' she grumbled, and spat again, rubbing her stomach in circles the entire time. 'You're giving me hell, you know that?'

'Me?'

'Not you, this one.' Beckett tapped herself just below the navel. 'Apparently, he or she doesn't like strong unpleasant smells.'

'You want me to send someone on a tea-quest?' Castle crouched down in front of her, loving that his attempts to soothe and pet weren't being shoved aside. He wasn't at all surprised when she shook her head.

'No, no tea. Water. Plain and simple water, the kind that fizzes.'

'Coming right up.'

Castle kissed her forehead, then snagged a uniform, a fresh-faced redheaded man with freckles sprinkled over his nose like sand. 'Officer Tamblyn?'

'Yes Mister Castle, is the detective okay?'

'She needs water. The fizzing kind, and her boys are going to need something as well, got it?' Castle gave the uniform a twenty and a stern look. 'You know I wouldn't do this if it weren't necessary.'

'Hey, I've got a two year old and a four month old, I've been there. Anything for you?'

'Caffeine, cold and carbonated.'

Tamblyn nodded, and was barely gone to the twenty-four-seven across the intersection when Esposito and Ryan both came out looking like the boogeyman had slapped the taste right out of their mouths.

'It's a bloodbath in there, but we found...a hand,' Ryan managed, fighting to keep Meredeth's breakfast burrito in his stomach, 'with a distinctive ring on it with initials, the CSU guys are tagging it priority to see if it'll get us an ID.'

'No wallets, nothing?'

'Not a chance.' Equally pale, Esposito shook his head. 'It's like Dexter Morgan's wet dream in there, Beckett. Lanie and Shane both said these guys were tortured but good before they finally met their end.'

'I won't even ask on cause of...' Beckett trailed off as a fresh round of nausea hit; because she was staring hard at the ground, she missed Ryan and Esposito's looks of concern.

'Uh...Beckett? You okay?'

'Yeah, guys, I'm fine, it's just morning sickness.'

'Ah. Kev, I'll let you handle that one.'

'Why me?' Ryan, clearly put out, sent his partner a rather pathetic look. 'You've been through pregnancy with Meredeth yourself, you know.'

'Yeah, but Meredeth had hardly any morning sickness. Jenny, on the other hand...'

'Alright, alright.' Ryan stepped over, lightly patted his boss' back as she tried to steady herself. 'Nothing to worry about, Detective, just the little one doing his or her thing.'

'And this is the first time you've actually thrown up today right?' Castle added, not to be outdone by the two-headed monster. 'All part and parcel of becoming a mother.'

'I know, I just didn't expect it to be so...sudden.' Beckett spat this distaste out of her mouth as the nausea ebbed and was replaced by a monstrous craving for English style fish and chips. 'Okay, now I'm starving, what gives?'

'Hey, listen, girl, it's what happens when you have a baby.'

All three glanced over to see their favourite pathologist walking, or rather waddling, towards them. At twenty-five weeks, Lanie was once again in full baby bloom and wearing her surgical masks to protect against any inhalation. She'd stripped off her gloves and gave her best friend a supportive pat on the head. 'Carey gave me such hell you'd think my uterus was possessed. This one has been playing nice so far, which probably means I'll be in for a rough third trimester like Meredeth had.'

'Yea you,' Beckett said rather pathetically. 'Lan, you have a hair tie or something?'

'Here.' She unclipped the twist in the back of her hair, passed the accessory to Beckett. 'I'm on my way to the morgue and I've got some elastics there, you hang onto that.'

'Mister Castle?'

Tamblyn had reappeared with a take-away tray of bottled fizzy-water and a Diet Coke for the man himself. 'Anything else you need, just holler.'

'Thanks, Tamblyn.'

Castle cracked the safety seal on the water, passed it to his ill bride. 'That feel better?' he asked as she drank it down.

'Much. Thanks a ton, Rick.' Feeling a little more herself, Beckett stood up and straightened her jacket, marched towards the warehouse. 'I can do this. I _will_ do this, god dammit.'

The three men watched her go in, all pursing their lips in concentration. 'Five bucks says she's back out in ten minutes,' Ryan quipped.

'Ten says she's still in there an hour.'

Castle shook his head. 'No bets, gents, not on this one.'

'Why?'

'That's why.'

They watched as Beckett came dashing back out of the warehouse and bent over into the bushes, then pressing the back of her hand to her mouth, she walked right back inside.

'We didn't do that to your wives, so you're not doing it to mine.'

* * *

By the time Ryan made it home that night, he smelled disgusting and just wanted to play with his boy, and cuddle up with his bride. His fantasy of a quiet night at home evaporated when he saw Andy, one of the nurses Honey-Milk worked with playing dinosaurs on the living room floor with Dell.

'Hey Detective.'

'Hey Andy, whatcha doin' here?'

'Daddy!' Dell scrambled up and raced over to hug his father, his nose wrinkling. 'You suh-mell yucky, Daddy.'

'Thanks, Dell. Where's Mommy at?'

'She in bed. Suh-now-fuh-lake is makin' her tummy sick.'

'Aw. Have you been a good boy for Andy?'

Dell nodded proudly. 'I big boy, I puh-lay nice.'

'Good. I'm going to check on Mommy, you two hangout here, okay?'

Ryan shoved the bedroom door open softly and saw Honey-Milk lying there in her at-home comfies, the wastebasket within striking distance and a towel covering her pillow, a trick they'd learned from when Dell had the flu. 'Hey beautiful, how's my baby mama feeling?'

'The magic of the miracle happening all over again. Could you get me something fizzing to drink that isn't Coke?'

'Sure, anything specific?'

Honey-Milk's response was to lean over and hurl into the trash-can, making Ryan sigh inwardly. Between his boss and his wife, it was going to be a long time until November.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	6. Tasty Treats

On her first morning off since the warehouse slaughter, Beckett awoke to discover several things at once - she was alone in bed, the clock was telling her it was nearly ten in the morning and for the first time since she'd confirmed she was pregnant she didn't want to puke her guts out; in fact, she was kinda hungry.

Wondering if her ever-loving hubby had decided to make her breakfast, she sat up, twisting and turning to get the kinks out; as she stretched skyward, she felt a little funny in the boobs. She brushed her hands over them and realized this was one perk of getting pregnant - though she never considered herself boyish in terms of her figure, she knew she was by far the smallest of all her friends, with Meredeth by far in the lead; not that she was always comfortable knowing such details but the morning of Meredeth's wedding when she'd helped her dress, she'd seen the size of her bra and wondered just how uncomfortable it must have been for the naturally 42D-sized Meredeth to have them swell up on her when she'd had Tessi.

Wow, she realized, climbing out of bed, the hormones must really be at work if my first thought is one of my best friend's breasts.

A quick shower later, Beckett got surprise number four of the morning, in her pants, which had been perfectly comfy and almost a little loose at Christmas were now snug. Walking over to the full length mirror on Castle's side of the room, she turned sideways and examined her body. Yep, there it was, that tiny little pop that would grow.

'Hello in there,' she murmured, running her palm over the tiny bump. 'Can't wait to see you again, my little sea monkey.'

Pulling on one of the floaty tunic tops she favoured on a day at home, Beckett bounded down the stairs and had reached the landing when she heard the low, almost musically sinister laugh that belonged to only one woman she knew.

'Hey there she is!'

Meredeth, who was sitting on the couch across from Castle, twisted to see the latest mother-to-be of the Twelfth Precinct walking in. 'How you feelin', Detective?'

'Hungry, and that's the first time I've felt hungry without being nauseous first.'

'Happy day indeed,' Castle smiled. His beautiful wife was glowing, he thought, with that near-heavenly aura of a woman with child. 'On that good news, I'm going to leave you to do your thing with Meredeth in the kitchen.'

'What? I thought we were going to spend the day together?'

'We will, but Gina needs to see me over some marketing thing this morning. I'll be back as soon as I can.' He rose, kissed her sweetly. 'I love you both very much.'

'Love you too.'

'I'll call when I'm on my way.'

Beckett watched him go, then turned back to Meredeth. 'So where's little Tessi? Did Dell abduct her?'

'Not quite. She's spending the day with Lili and Rosie, and hubby's at work so I am all yours. You want some pancakes?'

'Uh, sure.'

Meredeth grinned, went into the kitchen where she'd stashed some of her grocery supplies she'd brought with her. She hadn't been surprised at all the day before when Esposito had called her on a break from paperwork that he thought his boss would really appreciate the mommy-foods she'd made for all their other women. So she'd given him a 'say no more', hung up and made a trip to Gristedes with Tessi, where they'd worked on food vocabulary while shopping for their favourite female detective.

She pulled a binder from one of the bags of her cooking equipment and flipped it open to make a few notes. 'You're not on any diet restrictions other than the usual pregnancy stuff?'

'Nope.'

'And you have no food allergies or intolerances, so that makes it easier. How do you feel about vegetarian dishes?'

'So long as it's not soy trying to be chicken or beef that tastes like feet, I'm cool.'

'So veggie lasagne and canellonis are cool?'

'Very.'

'Sweet. Okay, wash up.'

Beckett blinked. 'I'm sorry?'

'Wash up,' Meredeth repeated, tying her apron around her waist. 'I'm making and teaching at the same time.'

'Oh, I don't know, Mere, I can handle scrambled eggs and pancakes for brunch but-'

'Kate, if I can get Javier Esposito to make an omelet that actually tastes delicious, you can make this stuff with me.'

'Seriously?' Now Beckett was impressed. 'How'd you manage that?'

'A great deal of patience and hovering. First up, let's talk cookies. They are good for in the oven so we can multitask with them, and they're actually more like a granola bar, so they're good for breakfast if you're in a rush.'

'Cookies for breakfast.' Beckett had to grin. 'Some mother I'll be.'

They worked for nearly three hours, time which just flew by and Beckett could understand how Meredeth found the process of it calming, the knowledge that when you added flour and butter together, it would thicken into roux and then came the milk and cheese for a homemade mac-and-cheese Beckett could have cried over. There were variables, certainly, like adding bacon or chive or mushrooms to the sauce but the basics of it were as calculated as sums and a great sense of accomplishment derived from a job well done when the rest of the world seemed to be falling apart around her.

'I learned this mac-and-cheese recipe during my first year mid-terms at Columbia,' Meredeth commented, then laughed. 'When we were in the store, I was trying to get Tessi to say 'macaroni' and it kept coming out 'mony'. 'Mony, Mama', she was saying.'

'That's too precious.'

'Do you know what you'll have ahead of time?'

'I don't know.' Beckett pursed her lips as she chopped Italian parsley, the rich earthy scent captivating. 'I feel...I don't know, selfish isn't quite the right word for it, but everyone's asking me all about the baby stuff and it's like right now, I'm going through the growing part, what about me?'

'That's why we're cooking, Detective. All this food is about you, for growing a healthy little one' Meredeth smiled, then passed Beckett a paper towel when the detective began to tear up a little.

'Thanks Mere.'

'Hey, I've been there.' And how frosty was it to say that? 'As Javi likes to say, I'd store it up for one day of nothing but hormonal freak-out then go back to normal for about sixteen days or so.'

Beckett stooped to pull cookies out of the oven, slid them onto wire racks to cool. 'I once made Rick promise that boy or girl, there wouldn't be any names starting with J, especially any variant of Joanna, but now that we're actually having one...I don't know, it feels like it'd be disrespectful to not consider it, you know?'

'Oh, I know all about family legacy when it comes to names,' Meredeth started, then quieted when Beckett's cell chirped at her. 'Beckett. Really. Okay, yeah, get it set up for tonight.'

'Surveillance?' Meredeth asked when

'Extradition questioning. A witness from a case who's been relocated for their own safety by the feds is agreeing to talk to us via tele-conference from a secure location and they are on a time leap of about six hours, so...' Beckett trailed off. 'It's one of my cases, not your man.'

'I know. He's been wrapped up with this warehouse murder thing and he told me they are going to be working until about ten tonight, so it's going to be a Mommy-and-Daddy only dinner tonight.'

Beckett looked around at all their food. 'We could make them something like this, they can warm it up in the break-room when I get there tonight.'

'See, you're already thinking like a mom.'

* * *

'So we've got two bodies sliced like pepperoni all over that warehouse and yet there is no murder weapon?'

'I didn't say that, I said no _visible_ murder weapon.'

'Then what, we're dealing with Claude Rains or something?'

Ryan scratched his stomach, focused on the murder board. He wished Castle and Beckett were there to keep him and his partner from fighting like children in the sandbox, but since she was pregnant now, Castle was far more hard-nosed about making her use her days off to rest. Not that they really got a lot but even when they were on-call, it was still considered worth your life to phone Beckett about work. 'Okay,' he said, trying to get a fresh look at it. 'Obviously there'd be a huge blood trail or spatter if the murder weapon was taken out of there, so it's something on scene.'

'Lanie said the cut were consistent with torture, but they weren't clean cuts, they were jagged and rough, like the skin was the last thing cut.' Esposito pointed to the photographs. 'There are tonnes of presses and gears there, not to hard to sharpen those down and get them down to nice pointy edges.'

'Which means we are looking for some seriously sick sons of bitches.'

'We'll see what CSU says. Where are we on ID's?'

'Still waiting on CSU there too.'

Esposito looked over. 'They close the lab or something?'

'System updates on their comps, they are about four hours behind schedule.' Ryan plunked himself down in his chair. Honey-Milk was on-shift until eight, when she'd pick up Dell and go home to make dinner for them both. A pregnant woman shouldn't have to do that, certainly not his pregnant woman. 'I need to call Jenny.'

'Go for it.'

Deciding there was more privacy in the break-room, where he could also make himself a coffee, Ryan dug his cell out of his picket and called his wife. 'Hey, honey,' he said when she picked up, 'how's work going?'

'Hard. There was a fire in a hotel so I've got a bunch of kids here with smoke inhalation issues who are coughing and hacking up all manner of disgusting things. Julia, the four-gauge, not the six, he's not a body-builder. Sorry, what?'

'You want me to let you go?'

'No, I need the break. It's been a mad house here.'

'I was just thinking, what if we had a late dinner tonight?'

'Oh, that sounds great, Kev. You feeling Thai or Italian or Greek?'

'I'm supposed to ask you that.'

'Kevin, I'm pregnant. It's all good, baby. Julia, I said four-gauge! Then go to the supply room! Kevin, I'm sorry, I need to run, I love you and we'll see you at home tonight.'

'Love you too.'

He hung up, and went through the motions of making his coffee. It wasn't right, he thought, that he had to work nights when she did too; he wanted to be there waiting for her at home, to surprise the mother of his children with a nice meal and a romantic kiss after she'd been pulling the double duty of working as a nurse and growing a human being in her body.

The moment he stepped out of the break-room, he smelled it. The unmistakable scent of Meredeth's macaroni and cheese, and wondered how the hell his partner got to be such a spoiled brat with all that good food. 'Dude,' he groused, 'where is she?'

'Who?'

'Mere, I can smell that cheese-sauce a mile away.'

'I brought the food.'

Both men glanced over to see Beckett in a loose top, jeans, and flat shoes now, unzipping Meredeth's thermal cooler. 'I had to come in to do the FBI teleconference and thought I'd also bring a snack.'

'I love my Danish angel,' Esposito breathed, lifting the lid on the container his boss passed him. 'Oh yeah, mac and cheese with mushrooms and bacon. Hard to top that.'

Ryan grinned, then arched an eyebrow when Beckett passed him a second container. 'Mere sent this for Jenny. Go put it in the fridge.'

'Now I love your Danish angel, too,' he told his partner.

Ryan just smiled the entire way to the break-room and thought of the very x-rated way his wife would thank him for bringing home this treat.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	7. Monday Morning Meetings

On the morning of her next doctor's appointment, Honey-Milk was finishing giving Dell his insulin shot when she heard her husband come in the door from his all-nighter on surveillance. His voice was exhausted and yet she knew he'd stick it out with her for the doctor's appointment.

'Dell? Jenny? You guys awake?'

'My room, Daddy! We finishin' nee-dell!' Dell hollered. It wasn't so bad now that he knew every day he'd take these shots and they were as normal to his routine as brushing his teeth.

Honey-Milk smiled at her boy as she pressed the cotton swab to his shoulder in case it started to bleed a little. 'There we go, big guy, you want a band-aid?'

'I'unno. It buh-leedin'?'

'No, not a drop.'

'Okay. No band-aid today.' Dell put his arm through his shirt and went to his father, who'd appeared at his bedroom door, to give him a hug. 'You tired, Daddy?'

'Yes, I was working on nights, but before I go to bed, Mommy and I are going to the baby's doctor for a check up to make sure he or she is growing properly.'

'I can come too?'

'Of course,' Ryan said without hesitation, making Honey-Milk's head whip around sharply. She rose out of the chair, and smiled at Dell.

'You finished getting ready, sweetie, I'm going to talk to Daddy in private.'

'He in tuh-roub-ell?'

'Maybe.'

Honey-Milk closed the door of Dell's room partway and stared at her husband. 'Are you sure that's a good idea? Dell's already sensitive enough that he thinks he's going to be replaced because he's diabetic, and I won't have his sense of security dashed away.'

'Yeah, I think it would really help him, especially given how early it still is in your pregnancy.'

'What do you mean, especially?'

'The baby's not fully formed yet, and if he thinks he's different or weird, he can see this baby that way too and feel less threatened. Two weird little peas in an Irish pod.'

Honey-Milk pursed her lips. 'You just love being right, don't you?'

'Only when I know I am.' Ryan moved in to kiss his wife, run his hands over the smooth, fluid curve of her stomach. 'We're a family, Jenn, he needs to be part of this.'

'Okay.'

Honey-Milk shuddered out a breath, swiped away the tiny tears that had formed at the corners of her eyes, then opened the door. 'Dell, sweetie, Daddy and I talked and we're all going together to see the baby.'

'Yea!'

* * *

'Mama?'

'Yes, Dell.'

'We know it a boy or girl?'

Honey-Milk laughed as she sat on the bed of the exam room, her son's bright blue eyes shining up at her in inquisition. He was kneeling on a chair beside her, curious as to what was going to happen. 'No sweetie, it's still too tiny.'

'Oh. We gonna know soon?'

'No. We're going to find out when he or she gets here,' Ryan said, smiling at him. The boy was so damn smart it was scary, and he knew that despite his wife's hesitations, they were doing the right thing by letting him see the baby on the monitor.

The door opened and Doctor Jim Harvey came in, smiling at the trio waiting for him as he brought the ultrasound equipment with him. 'Good morning, Ryan family.'

'Morning Doc-tor. You take Mama's temp-er-a-ture today?' Dell asked.

'Amongst other things. The first part we're going to do, though is have a look at the baby.'

'What that do?' Dell pointed to the machine.

'This is how we see the baby. Lie back, Jenny, and we'll get started.'

Dell watched fascinated as the doctor lifted his mother's gown up and smeared blue jelly on that made her giggle. Then Harvey turned on the funny-looking TV and at once Dell heard the alien noise. 'What that?'

'That's the baby's heart beat, Dell,' Ryan said, trying to keep it together in front of the boy as he held onto his wife's hand. The second time around didn't diminish the miracle of it in the slightest; somehow it was even more precious now because they had their firstborn watching with them.

'It fast.'

'It's working hard to get big,' Harvey said with a smile as the boy rose on his knees on his chair. He turned his wrist and the screen filled with the image of the foetus. 'That's your little brother or sister right there.'

'That not a baby, that a fishy!' was the three and a half year old's scoffed response, making them all laugh. 'Where my baby sister or buh-rother?'

'That's him or her right there,' Honey-Milk laughed.

Harvey shook his head and pulled Dell's chair closer, pointing to the various parts. 'See, there's the head, and a nose and that's a foot down here, and see this right here? This little flickering?'

'Uh-huh.'

'That's the baby's heartbeat Dell, that's that funny sounding noise.'

'He or she gonna be big-ger, right?' Dell asked in concern.

'Of course, remember, Mommy and Daddy said it wouldn't be here until almost Christmas time, right?'

'Lossa time.'

'Exactly. Everything is looking good, Jenny, right on schedule. Any concerns over nausea or bloating, weight gain, things like that?'

Honey-Milk shook her head. 'Just making sure our little guy doesn't feel left out or replaced or anything like that.'

'Often older siblings take a period of adjustment and go through a little bit of a jealousy phase, and it's certainly understandable given Dell's medical history.' Harvey pushed a few buttons on the screen and printed a second copy, which he wrote on the back of. 'Can you read that, Dell?'

'Tuh...tuh...tuh-wel...tuh-wel-vuh...weeks...ol-old.'

'Very good, young man. That's how old your baby is today. And he or she won't be ready to come out until thirty-eight or forty weeks.'

'Oh.' Dell could do a little bit of adding but these were much bigger numbers and he knew this was still a long time to go. 'We gonna wait a long time?'

'And I'll tell you what. Every time your Mommy comes in, I'll make sure she gets a copy for you so you can see how big your baby is getting, okay?'

Dell nodded, pride strong in his small chest that he was being treated with such a grown-up stature. 'I make sure my babies suh-tay safe. All my babies.'

'He's very proprietary of Tessi Esposito,' Ryan explained off of Harvey's baffled look. 'He calls her 'his' baby too.'

'Ah, yes.' Harvey's pager beeped and he nodded curtly. 'That is my ten am induction ready and waiting. I'll see you in another four weeks or so, make an appointment at the desk.'

The doctor left and Ryan kissed Honey-Milk on the forehead, then took Dell by the hand. 'Come on, little bro, let's give Mommy some privacy to change.'

In the hallway, the two Ryan men sat on the bench, the younger examining his copy of his baby sibling's photo carefully.

'Daddy,' he asked with a note of confusion in his voice. 'How my baby eat suh-tayin' in Mama?'

'Oh that's an easy one. See this?' Ryan pointed to a grey area near the baby's knee. 'This is called the umbilical cord and it's attached to Mommy so that the nutrients in what Mommy eats help the baby stay healthy and strong too. And then when you're born, it turns into your belly-button.'

'That is funny.' Dell wrinkled his nose. 'I did that?'

'You most certainly did. Mama wanted nothing but fruit and pizza while you were growing inside her.'

'Pizza yummy.'

'Okay, Dell you ready for preschool?' Honey-Milk emerged, dressed in her work-clothes with her bag over her shoulder and smiling at her men.

'One minute, Mama.' Dell scooted off the bench and patted the slightly rounded bump of his mother's stomach. 'Hello, fish-baby, you hun-ga-ree? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Baby want pizza and fuh-ruits for dinner, Mama.'

* * *

'Where's the two-headed monster?'

'Home asleep, they were on overnight details.'

'Ah.'

From behind her surgical mask, Beckett stared at the body in front of her. 'You have an ID on our mystery guest?'

'Tyson Huber, fifty-two, prints were in the system from the seventies for a D&D in Jamaica, Queens.' Pressing a hand to her slightly aching back, Lanie moved around the autopsy table to point out the massive head wound. 'Someone decided to use his head for target practice, and I mean that literally. See these concentric fracture circles? They indicated a blunt force trauma in the same spot at least a dozen times.'

'That's a lot of hate,' Castle commented, keeping an eye on both pregnant law enforcers. 'Not to mention very co-operative of the guy to stay still.'

'That's why I called you in. Toxicology came back and his blood alcohol was point three-six so cause of death is alcohol poisoning, not blunt force trauma.'

'How the hell do you even get to that point?' Castle pondered aloud.

'It's possible. After a certain threshold, the tongue stops processing the flavour of alcohol.' Beckett smiled, gave Lanie a wink. 'Like at Mere's bachelorette party.'

'The test-tube shots. I remember those quite well.'

'I don't.' All ears for dirty girl-talk, Castle leaned in. 'Remind me what happened?'

'Things best left for the imagination,' Beckett said, then braced her hands on the edge of the table, a moment of lightheadedness taking over. 'Oof. Hey you, yeah you in there.' She poked her abdomen. 'Mom's working, go have a nap.'

'Awww.'

'Shut up, Lanie.'

'Not a chance. You're the last one in our circle to get pregnant, and I'm milking it for everything it's worth.'

'Milk.' Beckett smacked her lips together. 'I could go for a shake or something.'

'Luckily for you, Meredeth is keeping me stocked up once again.'

Castle and Beckett followed Lanie into her office where she pulled two bottles of thick pale orange liquid from her 'Baby Food Only' fridge, passed one to her friend and fellow mama-to-be. 'Banana passion-fruit with a soy-protein booster.'

'Yum. Oh, mm,' Lanie sucked her smoothie up through her straw, waved a hand. 'Dave and I finally found a place, and here's the kicker. It's the same building we're in right now.'

'Really?'

'Yeah, it's two floors up on the other side of the building, three bedrooms and it's only three hundred a month more. The next cheapest we could find was six hundred a month more. Mark it on your calendar, May thirty-first is moving day.'

'You got it.'

Beckett nodded as she drank, making a mental note to make sure she booked the day off. 'Anything you need help with, just let us know.'

'You mean me,' Castle corrected, earning lethal stares. 'You'll be seven months and you'll be three and a half. There's no way either of you are lifting anything heavier than your purses.'

'Sit over there.' Beckett pointed to the wash room where Mister Huber was being slid into the cold-storage by Lanie's assistants.

'Excuse me?'

'Sit over there. I'm not going to have you insulting me like that. Sit. Over. There.'

Castle jutted his lower lip out in a pout that was one hundred percent a falsehood because if he hadn't, he'd have started to grin in a very goofy way at his wife and then she'd probably have duct-taped his mouth shut and put him in one of the morgue drawers. 'Yes ma'am Detective.'

Lanie waited until Castle had left the room before letting the snicker out; the sound of it had Beckett arching an eyebrow.

'What?'

'Nothing, just...nice to see even your hormones can get the better of you too.'

'There's nothing wrong with my hormones,' Beckett retorted indignantly. 'I'm perfectly in control of my body.'

'You keep telling yourself that.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	8. Cards Night: 12 Weeks

It was cards night for the gang from the Twelfth, and Beckett wanted to punch Castle. Not because of her hormones, of course, but because he was treating her like freakin' glass doll who might shatter when nudged. Any professional woman, especially one in a career as physical as hers, would take offense when her hubby didn't even let her carry something like the poker table-topper, she'd rationalized.

'Castle, come on, I can do it,' she said in a voice perilously close to a whine as he set up the card-table, began arranging the chips for five players. 'I'm not going to break anything.'

'And it's going to stay that way. You can bring over the ice for our drinks if you like.'

'Whoopee.' Beckett sneered as she grabbed the clear bowl, jammed it full of bottled beer and plunked it on the sideboard. 'That's what I am tonight, huh, just the beer wench?'

'Hey.' Castle caught her arm as she went to move past him, and kissed her deeply, running his hands over the mound of her bump that was just starting to pop up. 'I love you.'

'I love you too.'

'So that means you can't get angry when I remind you that you're pregnant, _Kate_, and you've got enough work to do keeping our child healthy and safe without overdoing it on the optional things that I can do too. Which reminds me.'

Castle went to the fridge and pulled out an open-slot six-pack of brown bottles. 'A treat for you.'

'I'm pregnant, remember? No booze.'

'Oh, ye of little faith. Read the label, Detective.'

Beckett picked up the bottle, turned it around. 'Reed's Micro-Brewed Ginger-Beer?'

'It's good stuff, Meredeth said Espo bought it for her when she had really bad nausea from...that time of the month,' Castle said, cheeks pinking. 'I got you a mix, there's two original, two raspberry and two spiced apple. And the best part is that it looks like you're drinking regular beers with us.'

'Why would I want that?'

'So you don't feel self-conscious?' Castle ventured hesitantly. 'I know how damn determined you are to still fit in, but honestly Kate, you can relax. The captain's a father, Ry-Sposito the two-headed monster are both fathers, hell Ryan's got another one on the way himself. It's not like they're unsympathetic or ignorant to what you're going through, you know?'

'But I'm the only woman in that bunch. That's the point. They get to strut around acting all macho that they've gotten their girls pregnant, and I'm on the sidelines because I'm the female and I'm supposed to be soft and delicate when I've got the task of growing the progeny inside me.'

Castle shook his head, wondering when preparing for poker night had devolved into this heavy conversation. 'I'm sorry, are we thinking of the same Detective Kevin Ryan, or is this like _Rashomon_ where I say one thing and you perceive it in a totally different way? Because I remember Ryan being almost a bigger girl than his wife the entire time after New Years when they found out Jenny was pregnant.'

'Yeah, but-'

'And these are also the same guys who took care of Lanie when she was unexpectedly pregnant as well, right, the guys who brought her smoothies and Life-Savers on scene so she could do her job. What in the hell makes you think they'd love you any differently or any less?'

'Well, shit, if you're gonna make me feel bad...' Beckett trailed off, mouth dropping open in horror as she felt the tears well up. She pressed her knuckles to her cheekbones. 'Oh, God, what is this? Why am I crying?'

His knee jerk reaction was to remind her it was the hormonal soup churning inside of her, but he liked being able to sit down without rubbing his raw ass against his clothing so Castle just took his wife in his arms as she wept, stroked her hair. 'I love you so much, you contrary stubborn thing.'

'I love you too, you patronizing occasionally-jerky wise-ass.'

'It's open,' he called out as the doorbell sounded and continued to hold his wife when Esposito, Ryan and Montgomery all walked through together.

'Kate, what's wrong?' Ever the softie, Ryan set his grocery bag down and went over to the kitchen where he saw the couple in the kitchen. 'Did something happen with the baby?'

'Did you fight with your dad?' Esposito added for good measure.

'No, it's just...it's just hormones,' Beckett finally admitted, pulling away from Castle just enough to turn around while still in his embrace. 'I think given that I'm pregnant, a couple of tears are permissible.'

'Hey, I'd worry if you didn't have a little weep-fest every now and then. Liz, when she was carrying my son, every day I'd stop at this yogurt place on my way home and bring her a scoop just to be on the safe side in case I got home and she was crying for no reason other than hormones getting the better of her.' Montgomery walked over and, knowing no-one would consider it strange, brushed his knuckles in a fatherly way over her cheek. 'No one's bullet-proof from their own bodies, Kate.'

'Thank you sir.'

'Now, you ready for some cards?'

Beckett nodded; since she was still in Castle's arms she turned around and without hesitation used the shoulder of his shirt to dry her eyes. It wasn't often the captain let that paternal side of himself show through so obviously, but there was also a reason from her first day under his command that Beckett called him 'Papa Duck'. 'I'm okay,' she whispered to her husband, then twisted open the bottle of spiced-apple Reed's to wet her whistle. 'Damn. That's actually really good.'

'Told you.'

The crying jag dealt with, the expectant parents went over to the cards table, Beckett with her six-pack in hand. The sight of it had Esposito scowling his disapproval.

'No, no, no alcohol, Beckett.'

'It's not.' She turned the label out as Ryan shuffled the deck. 'It's fancy ginger beer my husband spoiled me with.'

'Yeah, that's what Mere drinks. Speaking of which.' The handsome Puerto-Rican dipped into the bag Ryan had carried up from the car, passed her a Mason jar. 'Meredeth says hello and she's a phone call away whenever you need a refill.'

'Banana passion-fruit?'

'Strawberry papaya with vanilla whey protein.'

'Nice.' Ginger-beer set aside, she unscrewed the cap and drank straight from the jar, draining nearly half before she set it down. 'Very tasty. What?'

Ryan dealt, trying his best and failing spectacularly to keep the grin off his face. 'Nothing, Detective.'

'I'm pregnant, I'm allowed to pig out a little on health-shakes aren't I?' Beckett looked around with a sense of pride, her other hand slipping beneath the table to pat her still-tiny bump. 'That's permissable, it's not like it's raw cookie dough or something.'

'Of course. You got a little something there,' Esposito added, just as non-innocently, tapping his index finger to the corner of his mouth. 'I could make so many jokes about that.'

'Hey, watch your mouth,' Montgomery warned him. 'She'll be kicking your ass for two.'

They played the first few hands dummy with no bets, to get into the mood and Beckett found herself laughing and smiling along with them. Then, when Ryan opened the container of artichoke dip he always brought with him on cards night, the smell of it hit Beckett like a left hook. Immediately she shoved back from the table and stared at the floor until she was nearly cross-eyed.

'Ryan,' she said through gritted teeth, 'put that away.'

'Oh, sure, whatever you need.'

He immediately sealed the container again, and as a precaution, put it on the kitchen counter before washing his hands. When he came back from the table, his boss was still milk-pale but she was upright and swigging on her ginger-beer. 'I'm sorry, Kate, I didn't think-'

'It's fine, Ryan. No need to get bunched up. Is it my deal?'

'It's mine.' Esposito shuffled the cards, passed them around. 'Meredeth couldn't stand the smell of eggs when she was pregnant. Still doesn't like eating them even now.'

'Liz was like that about butter. Said it smelled like greasy milk. I'm in for twenty.' Montgomery tossed his chips onto the table.

'I'm in for twenty. You wanna talk about loss of tastes, Jenny well full vegetarian around five and a half months, remember that?' Ryan pointed at Castle. 'And I took a ton of crap from you for it when I did it with her.'

'Yeah, only you stayed crazy and still don't eat meat almost four years later.' Esposito tossed his cards in. 'I'm out. Kate, you want anything? Ice, juice, hip of slow-roast beef?'

'Ice would be good thanks, in a glass.'

'I got it.'

'See,' Castle murmured. 'Your boys love you too.'

'But not as much as you do.'

'Of course not.' Because he was amongst friends, Castle took his wife's chin between his thumb and forefinger and lightly laid his lips on hers in a tender kiss. 'Now prepare to lose your shirt.'

* * *

A few hours later, after Esposito had been the unlucky one of the night and lost all two hundred and seventeen dollars he'd brought to the pot that night, Beckett went upstairs to change out of her clothes. Lanie and Meredeth had been bountiful in their counsel on the clothes aspect of pregnancy and though she usually like to be dressed for bed unless she was anticipating sex, Beckett discovered she liked the feeling of being in nothing but her panties as her body was changing. She also liked it because of the greasy-sticky feeling the cocoa butter lotion she was forced to rub over herself to keep stretch marks to a minimum and to keep her skin well hydrated.

'Hey mama,' Castle smiled as he came into the bedroom, saw his lovely wife naked but for her underwear lying on the bed as she scooped her fingers into the tub of lotion. 'Here, let me do that.'

'Okay.'

Beckett passed him the container and he dipped in, began to rub the stuff over her stomach in gently but firm circles. 'That was a fun night, minus the crying part.'

'It happens.'

'The guys and the captain were nice about it. You were right.'

'Well, strike up the band. Katherine Louise Beckett just told me, Richard Castle, I'm right.'

'Don't get too cocky. I just mean you were right about them treating me like they did all the other mothers in our family.'

'You may be the last to join the club, but that doesn't mean shit to them. You are your own worst enemy some days.'

'I just don't want to lose any respect from them, you know?'

Castle shook his head, continued to rub her down with the cocoa butter. 'If they didn't respect you, they wouldn't act this way. If they didn't respect you, they'd pat you on the head and treat you like a brainless female. The fact they're giving you space and keeping a little distance means they don't want you to feel like you're being pat on the head and told, don't worry your pregnant little head about it.'

'I know, I get that now.'

Castle saw the look in her eyes and made the mental note to talk to Ryan and Esposito, maybe even Gil Mazzara and the captain, that she was feeling like this and maybe a couple of tiny baby tokens might help her see just how much respect they had for her. It was never easy to be a woman and a cop all at once; he didn't even want to imagine what it was like when a female police officer made the decision to start a family and had to deal with the crap of potentially less astute and far more chauvinistic idiots than the Ry-Sposito monster.

'Rich?'

'Sorry, yeah, I'm here.'

'Could you do my back?'

'Of course, my love.'

'And ummm,' Beckett squirmed a little. 'If you want to get a little handsy, that's fine by me.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	9. Saturday Night Fever

It was Saturday night and Ryan had a free and clear field - his parents wanted a weekend with their grandson so Dell had gone to Nan and Poppy Ryan's for the weekend to play with his cousins, he'd wrapped all the most pressing paperwork and he had his day off and on-call back to back. So he was going to do what he did best, even better than being a cop and spoil his wife absolutely rotten.

He had the night planned out wonderfully - he'd make her favourite pregnancy dinner for her, then brew her up some tea, throw the world's most romantic movie according to Jennifer Ryan on screen and just when she could be any more impressed with him, he'd take her to be and really show her how much he loved her.

The first crack came when he heard her keys in the door a full two hours before he expected her home. Glancing up from his copy of _Lady Hawk: Little Sister_ and coffee, he saw her quiet, subdued body language as she took off her coat and carefully unlaced her shoes.

'Hey, honey,' he said cautiously. 'How was work?'

When he got no response, Ryan bookmarked his page and went to her, felt his heart double-bounce when he saw the devastated look on her face. 'The baby?' was all he could say and relief was enormous when she shook her head.

'Kevin.' She said his name once and wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing tight as she sobbed. 'It was awful.'

'Had a rough one?'

'Haven't you seen it on the news?'

'No, I've been doing laundry and cleaning for you all day.'

Honey-Milk managed a weak smile as he tugged on her hands and led her over to the sofa in the living room. 'There was a collision, a school-bus was side-swiped by a truck on the West Side Highway. Because I've got the pediatric triage training, I had to go with all the triage and surgical staff into the field. There were no casualties, thank God, but those little bodies...they were barely older than Dell and some of them were just mangled...they were crying for their parents.'

'Oh, honey.' Ryan gather her close, his hands stroking over her bump. 'It's okay.'

'They were sick, like throwing up,' she continued, 'in fear, in pain, and the smell...god, it was like rancid cream of mushroom soup, it was just...I had to stay out of the bus itself. I saw Dave and Jayla there and they both looked like they needed a drink or six after it was done.'

'If it was that bad, how come you're home so soon?'

'There weren't any fatalities, it was treat and release mostly on scene. Only six out of forty-four kids, the school bus driver and the truck driver had to go to the hospital for further treatment so Miranda let me go at the end of my shift to get some rest.'

Honey-Milk dragged her hands through her hair. 'I just wanna hold Dell. Is he napping?'

'Ah...maybe.'

'Maybe?'

'He's with my parents and my nephew in the Bronx.' Ryan gave her a guilty and sheepish grin. 'I wanted to have the place cleaned up for you so when you got home, we could have dinner together, then maybe a massage or a soak, then the really fun stuff.'

'Oh, Kevin.' Now happy little tears sparkled at the corners of her eyes. 'You are the best hubby in the history of the Big Apple. What were you thinking for dinner?'

'Ummm...'

'What?'

'Chicken club wrap with cream of mushroom soup, that recipe I got from Meredeth.'

Honey-Milk rubbed her fingertips over her lips. 'And here I am shitting all over your thoughtfulness. I'm sorry.'

'It's okay, we can have tomato, or no soup at all, just salad or-'

Ryan was cut off when his wife launched herself at him and kissed him hard on the mouth. Her tongue nudged his lips apart and teased his excitedly as her soft but sturdy hands clamped on the back of his head. He reacted out of reflex rather than design, his hands on her back; the touch of them gave her goosebumps of arousal, something Honey-Milk hadn't anticipated after a long and trying day.

'I love you, Kevin.'

'Love you too, Jenn.'

'We'll have the cream of mushroom.'

'But-'

This time Honey-Milk cut him off with a finger pressed to his lips as she smiled at him. 'You have been using your day off to make sure I came home to a clean house and a hot meal. I'm very thankful for that because I know with both of us working and raising Dell these moments are hard to come by so if you'd made avocado salad on toast, I'd eat it. And you know how much I _loathe_ avocados.'

'I do.'

'And while it's warming up, you can tell me more about this fun stuff you have in mind.' Honey-Milk wiggled her eyebrows, bit her lip to hide the naughty smile.

Ryan saw the look in her eyes and had to laugh. 'What happened to wanting to hold our baby boy?'

'That's the fun side of pregnancy hormones. In my case, sex trumps everything.'

'Well then.' Ryan kissed her sweetly, lips lingering on the skin of her throat. 'I think there was a rumour of a massage.' He moved around to the other side of her neck. 'A full...body...massage, with my hands...everywhere...on...you,' he murmured in between kisses, making her hum in her throat.

'Why, Detective, is that how you get all those criminals to confess?'

'No. This move I save just for you.'

'Mmm. What do you say we skip the food for the moment and start with that part?'

'You read my mind.'

Ryan pulled her to her feet, running his hand over her tiny little bump. He couldn't wait for it to pop out, like it had when she'd been pregnant with Dell. Taking her into the bedroom, they were there maybe a few seconds before he'd tugged the loose cotton top over her head and had her sports bra unsnapped; the pants went next so she was naked as a newborn in front of him.

'Jennifer Agatha Ryan, you are absolutely gorgeous.'

'I feel puffy.'

'You're gorgeous,' he repeated, then pulled his own shirt over his head, slipped off his pants so he was in his boxers then rooted around in the drawer of her bedside table until he found the pot of shea butter. It was their scent, as he'd learned all couples seemed to have their own fragrance that put them in the mood for love and they'd stumbled across this one when they'd celebrated their first Valentine's Day together. 'Turn over.'

When she complied Ryan warmed the butter between his hands and started low on her back, the spot he knew gave her the most trouble in her last pregnancy. His strokes were smooth and firm as he went from lumbar to shoulder blade and back. Her sigh was one of unadulterated pleasure, as much for the touch of him as for the sensuality of it.

'Kevin,' she murmured, 'that feels so good, you have no idea.'

'Oh I think I have some idea.'

Honey-Milk laughed, then sighed again as his working-man's hands passed over her body again, making her feel tingly all over. Then, she squeaked a little as his hands drifted over her ass, squeezing gently and rubbing before he continued down her legs. Her eyes grew heavy with lust and want for him but before she could lapse into an erotic coma, he nudged her so she rolled to her back and she felt the weight of him on top of her, and that he was also completely naked with her. She ran her hands over his chest, the smoothness of his skin making her purr. Her legs shifted and she cradled him.

'Best welcome home ever,' she whispered, and pulled him in for a kiss.

* * *

'Kate, my love, I am really digging your creative pregnancy hormones.'

Naked, sated from good sex, Beckett thumped her head lightly against his chest where she snuggled against him. 'What makes you think it was the pregnancy that made me wanna try that one?'

'Why else would we have done it here, at my desk?'

'Maybe I was living out one of my top five fantasies with you and being pregnant was a good excuse?'

Castle eyed her with suspicion. 'Was it?'

'Not telling.'

'Crafty, crafty woman.'

'All I know is that when you are working and concentrating very hard, you get a little wrinkle right here-' Beckett tapped the spot above his eyebrow '-and it makes me wanna kiss it better in a very adult-movie nurse kind of way.'

'Okay, who are you and what have you done with Kate?' he asked, swiveling his desk chair with his feet, the movement making her breasts sway slightly. 'Not that I'm complaining about this new little sex kitten in her place, but I like my wife who is a little on the shy side about expressing her opinions about sex.'

'So it's fine for me to strut around in my sweater and heels with my bra hanging out while I save your ass from Russian mobsters but when I decided to bang your brains out in your office that's weird?' Beckett pouted. 'That's not very nice.'

'Want me to make it up to you?'

'Very much so.'

Castle grinned, stroking his knuckles down her face, then laying his open hand over her belly, which was starting to puff into a smooth, fluid curve. 'Well I might brag I do my best work in front of a keyboard, I also like to think that's true of the bedroom.'

Wrapping his thick arms around her not-so-slim hips, he boosted her up and made it three steps before he dropped her back to her feet because he realized his jeans were still around his ankles. 'Meet you up there?'

'I'll wait.'

'Your call.' He hitched his pants over his hips and zipped them, but left the belt and button undone, and Beckett knew she was really far gone with her hormones as the sight of that made her wanna drop them all over again and do some very naughty things to her husband's already satisfied body. Instead, she held out her hand to him when he'd gathered up the clothes that had flown hither and yon in their passion and led him up to their marital bed. Once there, with the door closed out of habit more than anything, Beckett kept her hands busy by carefully and slowly undressing him.

'So this is the fun side of hormones that Ryan and Espo kept bragging about.'

'Wouldn't you already know that, having already had a child?'

Castle shook his head. 'Meredith refused to let me touch her in any kind of way when she was pregnant, she said she didn't want my hands on her when she wasn't perfect, which nearly gave me carpal tunnel but-'

'That's what we call an overshare,' Beckett smiled, feeling for the young man in love and admiring the grown one in front of her. 'I'm far from perfect and if I go without your hands on me at least twice a day right now, I think I'd scream.'

'You're perfect to me, Kate.'

The simple words packed such a punch that tears threatened in her eyes; they were immediately cleared when he kissed her cheek near her ear and added in a whisper, 'I'd rather hear you scream with my hands on you.'

Later, after she had indeed screamed for him, Castle watched her sleeping; she'd taken to doing so on her back, unconsciously so she wouldn't squish the baby he imagine, but he loved the view - the curve of her breasts was now mirrored by the growing arc of her belly. Moving his hand in circles over the little miracle growing inside, he smiled at her and shifted so he was speaking directly to the bump the rose and fell with Beckett's deep breathing

'Hey in there, you're probably thinking Mom's being too loud, but trust me, it's a good kind of loud.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	10. PreVacation Loose Ends: 15 Weeks

'Richard!'

'What?'

'Get in here!'

Panicked, Castle rushed in from the bathroom, half-dressed and mouth full of toothpaste foam. 'Wuzzit?' he mumbled, then ducked back into the ensuite to spit it into the sink. 'What is it?'

'Look at this!'

Beckett was standing by her dresser; she'd pulled on a pair of soft-looking spring weight pants, and was tugging at the front flaps where they would normally have zipped together over her flat belly, but there was a little someone getting in the way now. 'I'm starting to show!' she said with a goofy, very non-Beckett grin on her face.

'You are.' Castle shared her smile, but could still sense a little hesitation in her tone. 'But?'

'But...it still just feels like I'm getting fat. And how am I going to look in a bikini this weekend?'

'As hot as you always do, but you need to make sure you're staying well sun-screened and shaded.'

'Castle-'

'I don't want a barbecued baby,' he said firmly and for the first time in awhile, Beckett saw the nerves of an expectant daddy in his eyes. 'Humour the anxious husband.'

'Fine, I'll play with Tessi and Dell under that big umbrella on the beach.'

'Good enough for me.' Castle gave her a kiss. 'You're still driving up with Meredeth and Javier?'

'Yeah, I'll see you when we're off shift. _We_ will see you after we're off shift,' she self-corrected, patting her little bump.

* * *

Because it was the Friday before a long weekend, they were able to work mostly on paperwork, with a trip here and there thrown in to CSU or the morgue. Surprisingly, Memorial Day weekend was one of the quietest times they faced. The R.I.D.E. guys on the other hand, this was their Hallowe'en, and would take bets on who would pull in the biggest lush off patrol.

Beckett was at her desk, focused on preparing notes for the captain to brief him when he was back from City Hall when a little shadow came into view on her desk. Flicking her glance over, she saw it was a bottle of opaque red-brown liquid.

'Meredeth says hi and wants your opinion.'

'Oh?' Pausing as much for the break as for interest, Beckett looked up into Esposito's smiling face. 'She's doing another cookbook?'

'No, actually, she's in the works on the seventh Lady Hawk with Kristof and they're also in talks to make a second miniseries with CBS. This is just for fun.'

'What is it?'

'Decaf oolong with gingered peaches.'

'Let's give it a try.'

Beckett took one sip and nearly spit it back out, but her body had taught her better to swallow and pass than spit and choke. 'No.'

'No?'

'No.'

'Hey, Beckett, got you a vanilla steamer-' Ryan cut himself off when Beckett yanked her coffee mug from his hand with the sweetened milk and despite its near-scalding temperature, swallowed half down in a single gulp. 'With two-percent milk,' he finished, then traded a grin with Esposito. 'Wanna catch me up?'

'Meredeth made some iced tea and Miss Picky Preggo here didn't like it.'

'You wanted my opinion, I gave it to you.' Beckett leaned back in her chair and instinctively rubbed her belly. 'And besides, it wasn't exactly my opinion alone, right?'

'You are starting to pop, Detective,' Esposito commented, remembering fondly when Meredeth had sprouted up like that when Tessi was still a bump. 'Speaking of pop, let me be a daddy for two minutes?'

'The floor is yours, Detective.'

'Tessi is starting to talk in tiny sentences.' He straightened up a little with pride as he did so. 'Last night when I got in, she says 'Da-dy home!' when I walked the kitchen. And this morning, she was trying to imitate Meredeth scolding Artie, she scrunches up her little face and said 'Aah-tie no!' She's going to be a chatty one like Dell.'

'Okay two minutes are up.' Ryan cleared his throat, nodding over Beckett's shoulder. She turned and saw the captain there, buttoning his suit jacket as he approached their desks. 'Afternoon, sir.'

'Detectives. You're already planning the midnight beach party in the Hamptons?'

'Conferencing on the Cupid case notes before the preliminary hearing next Thursday,' Beckett said; it wasn't a total lie as that was what she had been doing before being distracted by everyone's favourite two-headed monster. 'We're all set sir.'

'Glad to hear it. How are you feeling, Detective?'

'Fine, I guess, a little more tired than usual.' She jerked a shoulder. 'Nausea's mostly gone and I just want to eat everything insight.' And the hormones make me wanna use every available second for banging my hubby like a jackhammer, she added silently.

'Okay. We'll talk more when you get back after your vacation.'

Beckett watched him go, his words making the others look at her in concern.

'What do you need to talk about after the weekend?'

'Oh, just about my hours and stuff.' Beckett smiled. 'Along with no more high heels, I have to be careful about who I interview.'

'We got your back,' Esposito responded immediately, unconsciously and subtly throwing his chest out in an effort to appear more masculine. 'We won't let anything happen to you.'

'You also have your own careers and case loads. You're not going to babysit me.'

Ryan shifted a little. 'Not babysit, Kate, just...keep an eye on. Castle's bigger than both of us-' he gestured between himself and Esposito '-and he could easily turn either one of us into a sock puppet.'

'You're even the same size,' Esposito quipped, and got an elbow in the ribs for it.

'Look, all this concern is very touching, and I'm very glad to have my big brothers looking out for me,' Beckett smiled at them both, 'but Javier, we're going to be in a car for about an hour and a half together to drive up to the summer place so how about we, oh I don't know, pretend we're murder cops and do that job, and play nicey-nice on the drive up?'

'You got it, boss.'

Ryan shook his head as he went back to his own desk, pushing paperwork through for warrants that wouldn't be active until Tuesday because most of the city's judges were already on vacation themselves, as well as loose ends on cases that were either wrapped or being passed off to clear his board for the next week in anticipation of the Cupid case's preliminary hearing for Axel Schuern, a small time loan shark whose offer of getting Shawna Prince a 'rushed passport' was too good to be true and his boss had sent his best hitman to stage an elaborate crime scene to throw the cops off the trail as Shawna Prince was also known to have a boyfriend with a very short fuse and darkly creative side.

By the time the last of the folders had gotten Beckett's signature, Ryan capped his pen and stretched skyward. Cops occasionally got reps as complainers amongst the civilians that they were cranky having to deal with people and wanted to get their paperwork done, then when there was no fresh corpse to deal with and nothing but a few forests of documents awaiting attention they would consider suicide by a thousand papercuts for a change of scenery. Today was one of those Kobayashi Maru no-win type deals until this moment here, when he was ready to shut down his computer and say farewell to being a cop for three days.

The elevator dinged and he heard it instantly - his son's babbling chatter undercut with his wife's smooth and sweet voice.

'Where is Daddy, he catchin' a bad guy?'

'No, I don't think so honey but we'll ask.'

'Can we see a bad guy?'

'They're all in the Holding tanks.'

'Hey!' Ryan shoved back from his desk but stayed sitting down, eyes shining as he saw his boy run up to him and all but jump into his lap. 'Oh, careful with the old man!'

'You not old, Daddy.' Dell batted his blue eyes at his father, then waved brightly at Esposito. 'Hi Javi, where my Tessi?'

'She's with her mommy and Artie and they're meeting me and Kate here soon.'

'Hi Kate.' Dell squirmed out of his father's grip and rounded the desks to give Beckett a squeezing around the knees and reached out his hand to hover it an inch above her belly. 'I can say hi?'

'Of course.'

The little boy's eyes were shining and he put his hands on Beckett's tiny bump, leaned in to talk to the unborn one. 'Hi in there,' he whispered loudly, so everyone around him heard it. 'You gotta suh-tay in there til Chuh-rist-mas, okay? Then you be ready like my new buh-rother or sister.'

'What a charmer,' Beckett murmured in a small voice so she wouldn't break into emotional tears in the middle of her bullpen. That would just be too much. 'Why don't you tell the baby your name?'

'My name is Dell Ryan and I am the biggest. Then Rosie and Carey and Kelley and Tessi, and Tessi is my girl.'

'Possessive much, Delaney?' Honey-Milk giggled as Ryan stood up, took her by the hand. 'Dell, time to go, we'll see everyone soon.'

'Okay.' Dell kissed Beckett's bump and gave it one last pat. 'See you soon, baby.'

Beckett swallowed thickly as she watched the little boy, like a pint-sized version of Ryan, take his dad's hand and they walked to the elevator, down to presumably the garage level.

'Alright, you ready to go there Beckett?' Esposito appeared and being a gentleman, offered his arm to his friend. 'There's a lobster po-boy waiting with my name on it.'

'I thought we can't have seafood because Lanie's allergic?'

'Lanie called Mere this morning, Carey has a check up this afternoon and Dave's working until ten so they're driving up early tomorrow morning, so we're having a gen-u-ine clambake tonight. Something involving tasty treats that would put her in the hospital and they only reason we want her there is because that next baby is ready to pop out.'

Beckett laughed as the elevator dinged open, evacuated its passengers. 'How did that phrase ever become popular? It's not like this is a balloon I'm sticking with a pin and then you have a baby after a very loud bang.'

'Oh, I don't know about that,' Esposito said conversationally, making her laugh. 'I'm guessing the bang to get the baby inside in the first place was good and loud.'

'I'm fifteen weeks pregnant, Esposito, and I'm armed, you think that's a wise comment to make?'

'Fifteen weeks, wow. That was when Meredeth's hormones really kicked in, she couldn't keep her hands off me.'

'Seriously, there is a SIG P226 in the holster on my hip.' But Beckett relented a little. 'I couldn't do up my pants this morning. I had to dip into the maternity wear Meredeth sent over for these. And Castle, every morning he's been...oh shit.' Beckett swiped at her eyes that had welled up all of a sudden and were spilling over. 'Was Meredeth like this?'

'Big time.' Esposito patted his pockets, came up with a wrinkled Starbucks napkin. 'Here.'

'Thanks.'

'No worries.'

The elevator doors opened and they nearly walked into Meredeth, who carried Tessi on her hip. 'Hi,' Esposito said brightly, the fatigue of the nothing-but-paperwork day vanishing when he saw his two jewels. 'How are my gorgeous girls?'

'Gull.' Tessi stabbed her index finger into her chest. 'I gull.'

'And a very pretty one you are.' Meredeth gave her husband a kiss, then adjusted her purse on her shoulder as all four walked towards the Nissan. 'We're good, packed and ready to go, and Artie's excited because we're in the car and that means a trip.'

'How is this going to work?' Beckett asked.

'Artie will ride shotgun and the ladies get the back seat.'

A few minutes later, they were leaving the Twelfth's garage and off for their weekend at the shore.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	11. Beach Side Mamas

By lunchtime on Saturday the gang was all there - Lanie and Dave had arrived just at the end of brunch with Carey, who'd immediately zeroed in on Dell and began planning their antics for the beach that afternoon, making Honey-Milk shake her head. Her boy was a natural leader and loved being around all his kids, but of course, the one who had his heart and soul was Tessi. When she'd been at the breakfast table, Dell insisted that he be between her and his mother, and had even gone so far as to help spoon-slice the bits of pancake for her tiny little hands and made sure her sippy-cup of apple juice didn't tip over and spill.

'She gettin' so big, Mama,' he'd told her as they'd gotten ready for their post-brunch plans. 'Puh-retty soon, we can read books to-gether.'

'That's a great idea, she loves to read.'

Dell nodded, then reached up and patted his mother's stomach. 'Love you too, suh-now-fuh-lake, I not for-gettin' 'bout you.'

'Baby says thank you.'

'You know what baby is thinkin'?' The little boy looked awestruck. 'That is very cool, Mama.'

'That's the magic of being the mom. You have your juice-bottle?'

'Yep.'

'Yes.'

'Yes, Mama.'

Honey-Milk smiled, grabbed his hand to go downstairs and find the rest of the gang was already on the beach, Meredeth and Beckett setting up the large umbrella area for the pregnant women and little ones to play while Lanie kept said little ones out from underfoot. They were such a picture: Lanie all coffee-skinned and blooming belly in a flowing ocean blue and white sarong, Meredeth tall and stupendously curvy in a sporty black and metallic rainbow two-piece beside Beckett's slim body beginning to morph with her now visible pregnant belly over the edge of her green and white bikini. They formed a small half-huddle around the children - Carey with his copper-toned skin and bi-coloured eyes, while Tessi was a cafe-au-lait cutie with her black curling hair and bright blue eyes. Such beautiful children and three of them were about to add to the mix.

The men of course, were on the beach getting the volleyball court ready for two on two and how they would play when they had two women fifteen weeks pregnant and one almost thirty weeks along was anyone's guess. They themselves were quite a varied and unique bunch - Castle was thick-bodied and almost hulking, with definition in his chest and arms, Esposito with his golden cinnamon skin and beach-hunk physique fit right in, and of course Dave looked more like a Calvin Klein model with his Italian complexion and six-pack abs.

But for Honey-Milk, she was focused on the lean runner's body of her husband with his light dusting of fine pale hair, his peach-fuzz he called it, and his milk-white skin he was forever trying to tan; while he might not have been tall and sculpted like Dave or a bruiser like Castle or Esposito, he was the one and only of the four of them that made her mouth water.

'Hey, what are you doing?' She called out when she saw Lanie bending over to pick up the clutch of folded-up beach chairs. The sound of her voice had the doctor looking over and squinting behind her sunglasses.

'My son weighs more than these and I still pick him up,' Lanie pointed out, making Honey-Milk shake her head.

'I'll do it.'

Dell had let go of her hands and had zoomed over to Carey and Tessi, who were parked on the sand under the beach-umbrella and playing with Tessi's new pail and shovel - the little girl wasn't afraid to get dirty in the slightest - leaving Honey-Milk to help Lanie. A quick few snaps of plastic and metal, and they were in business for staying shaded on the beach during the heat spike of the Memorial Day forecast while the mothers all watched their babies.

'Dell hep,' Tessi said in her sweet voice, admiring the little boy with dark blue eyes as she dug a shallow trench in the sand. 'Mama, Dell hep.'

'I see that, princess,' Meredeth smiled, smearing lotion over her arms. 'Come over here, you need fresh sunscreen.'

'O-day.'

Tessi hauled herself to her feet and wobbled like a drunk as she toddled over the uneven sand, and accidentally grabbed Meredeth's breasts as she tried to steady herself when she lost her balance.

'Oh, sweetie, those are for Daddy to play with, not you,' she groaned playfully, then righted her daughter and stuck her arms out. 'Make like a scarecrow.'

'Say-coh.'

'Very good, princess!'

Beckett laughed as she watched her friend make faces at her little girl while smearing the protective lotion on her skin, then kissed the tip of her nose before sending Tessi back to her friends. Shifting her long legs, she looked at Meredeth with admiration. 'She's so good. Really, Mere, you and Javi are doing an amazing job.'

'She has her moments, like when she all of a sudden decides that it'd be fun to drag all her toys out of the basket in her nursery when she was supposed to be napping.'

'How do you handle that?'

'Tell her no, nap time is nap time, even if she cries, then of course, ten minutes after her head hits the pillow she is out like a light.'

'You ever feel like the bad guy?'

'Occasionally, sure, that's human nature though.' Meredeth bundled her hair into a messy bun up off her neck. 'But then I remember I'm so sick of these kids I've run into on tour and signings who have such an overinflated sense of self-entitlement and that I'm determined even though our kids will come from silent money they will not act like it.'

'The key thing to remember, at least what I've found especially with Dell and his diabetes is patronizing them gets you nowhere fast.' Honey-Milk adjusted her sunglasses on her face. 'Kids are sharper than a lot of people give them credit for. Like one night, I had a date with Kev and got called in, and a ten-year-old girl asked if I'd been on a date because I had fancy earrings on.'

Beckett nodded, then shifted in her chair a little. She'd been feeling funny little bubbles near her intestines ever since eating the popcorn shrimp the night before. But then, she'd also overeaten, that much she knew. 'I'm sorry, but would any of you be offended if I, ah, gas?'

'Of course not,' Meredeth scoffed, thrilled for once to not be the last one at the table; as the youngest of all the women there, she knew how it felt to be the child amongst the adults and in this one life experience she'd had before her older friend, she was absolutely going to play it up for all it was worth. 'We've all been there, and two amongst us are going there a second time.'

'Fire away,' Lanie agreed on a nod, one eye on her son.

Beckett screwed up her face in concentration, but even as she clenched her muscles, nothing happened. 'Huh, that's weird.'

'What?'

'I feel all fluttery and gassy down there but nothing's happening.'

'Fluttery?' Now Honey-Milk was all ears. 'You said fluttery?'

'Yeah.'

'Kinda like maybe you've got a goldfish swimming around in there?'

'Exactly!' Beckett snapped her fingers, gestured. 'Why, is that a sign of something wrong?'

All three mothers exchanged gooey, excited looks before turning their beaming faces to Beckett. Finally, it was Lanie who reached out and gripped her friend's hand excitedly. 'Katie, that's the baby moving.'

'What?'

'That's the first movements of the baby.' Honey-Milk wiggled on the spot. 'He or she is getting big enough that you can feel it moving around.'

'Oh...oh man...' Beckett looked down at her body, rubbing her hand over her belly where she'd been feeling the flutter. 'I was feeling it all last night, and especially after Rick and I...you know.'

Meredeth laughed, winked at the mom-to-be. 'Get used to that. Tessi would get very happy when Javi and I were intimate. It's because your heart-rate is up, right, at least I'd hope it is during those romantic times. Oh, Kate it's okay,' she soothed her friend as Beckett dissolved into happy tears; Lanie pulled her friend close. 'You just cry it out, no need to be embarrassed.'

'What's going on?'

Honey-Milk and Meredeth looked up to see their men standing at the edge of the umbrella, Esposito with a volleyball in his hands. 'The Cas-Beck baby is moving for the first time.'

'Oh that's so cool!' Ryan grinned at his wife in understanding, as Dell wandered over with Carey and Tessi following behind him to see what the goings-on were about.

'Daddy, why De-tect-ive Kate cuh-ryin'? She sad?'

'No, she's very happy, because she felt the baby moving around for the first time.' Ryan picked Dell up, put him on his hip. 'Sometimes people cry because they're so excited and happy about something that's the only way they can get it all out.'

'You ever do that, Daddy?'

'Of course, the first time I saw you come out of Mommy. You were an absolutely beautiful baby.'

'Baby,' Tessi repeated. 'Baby soon?'

'At Christmas time, sweetheart.' Esposito scooped her up, gave her a noisy kiss that made her shriek in delight.

'My baby here sooner,' Carey declared, giving his mother a hugging and giggling. 'I feel him. He wobba-wobba.'

Beckett, who'd finished her crying jag, couldn't help but laugh. 'Wobba-wobba?'

'He means wobbly, like wobble-wobble,' Lanie explained, kissing the top of his head. 'Carey, where are your sunglasses?'

'Bag.'

'Go put them on, please.'

'Kay.'

'The doctor said he should always wear sunglasses outside, just to make sure his vision stays healthy because the heterochromia strain he has is susceptible to myopia,' Lanie said, shaking her head. 'Other than that, he's relishing being almost two.'

'Ah, yeah, I remember those days with Alexis.' Castle, who'd wandered up when his co-horts had gotten sidetracked, caught the end of Lanie's words. His reminiscing was cut short when he saw his wife sniffling and immediately elbowed his way past the Ry-Sposito monster to crouch in front of her. 'Kate, what is it? What's wrong?'

'The baby's moving, Castle. Remember I thought I had gas last night, it's the baby moving. It's really in there!'

Castle grinned and gave her a hard kiss of enthusiasm. 'That's great, sweetie, really.'

'How come you guys are over here?'

'Not much fun without you guys.' Ryan wrinkled his nose. 'So we thought we'd get the kids playing with a beach ball.'

'Tell Dave Carey has to keep his sunshades on,' Lanie said as the men walked off with their babies, who were chattering excitedly at the prospect of a new game, then winced. 'Sorry, sweetheart, you're hanging with me,' she told her belly, massaging a spot near her ribs where she'd felt an indignant kick. 'Because we're a package deal, that's why.'

'I can't wait to feel that again,' Honey-Milk sighed romantically. 'There's nothing like it.'

'Are you going to have drugs this time?'

'Yes. My OBGYN said this baby is going to be bigger than Dell so if I'm planning a push birth sign up for the epidural.'

'I always knew I'd wanted the drugs,' Meredeth chipped in, rolling to her stomach and propping her chin on her fisted hands. 'It was a kind of no-brainer, given that there's a history on the Addison side of my lineage of very large babies.'

'Same here.' Lanie shifted herself so she was also lying on her beach towel, giving her aching back a rest. 'Carey was a big boy and the doc thinks I might need a C-section if Junior here keeps growing.'

Beckett settled back, let the noise of her friends drift around her head. She tried to picture her baby inside her, floating around like he or she was in an infinity pool. Without realizing it, she'd begun rubbing her hands over her stomach in the same way Lanie had.

'Dell Ryan has it right,' she murmured, 'you stay safe in there.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	12. CasBeck Quickie

By five, when the sun was starting to think about going down, casting long orange and black shadows over the beach, the gang was ready for their pre-dinner siesta, save for Beckett and Castle, and inexplicably Tessi. Since Meredeth and Esposito had had that look in their eyes while they'd been playing beach-ball volleyball with the kids, Beckett had volunteered to take Tessi with her into the main house while they 'had a nap', probably a repeat performance of how Tessi got there in the first place that Ryan wouldn't interrupt.

She thought of them, the winks and air kisses they'd lobbed at each other, reflecting on how beautiful it was that they were still all over each other like spider monkeys even with both of them in the new routine of parenthood. It reminded her of her parents and when her dad had told her he was taking her mother out to the Hamptons for their anniversary for a getaway, which Beckett took to mean that her parents were _doing it _in a fancy hotel for two days. Even after eighteen years of marriage, they hadn't been able to resist each other, Beckett mused, something she knew would happen for all her friends who'd found their boys and girls, especially at the rate they were cranking out the babies.

Sitting in the middle of the king-sized bed, she shook her head as Tessi patted her hands on the book, a hard-cover Doctor Seuss; her beloved stuffed turtle was within an arm's length.

'Book, book, book, book,' she sang. 'Datie book?'

'I don't have one on me, no.'

'Datie book,' Tessi repeated and plopped the the story into her lap and opened the cover, jabbed her little fingers at it. 'Sippy book.'

'What?'

'Sippy book.'

'Sippy book?'

Tessi picked up Crush, hugged him close as she mimed sleep. 'Sippy book.'

'Oh!' Understanding her mangled instructions now, Beckett pulled Tessi into her lap and opened the cover, began to read. 'To Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street, by Doctor Seuss.'

Castle, who'd been in the kitchen taking stock of the fridge contents and determining what needed to be purchased for dinner that night, walked into the bedroom just as Beckett was finishing the story and Tessi was almost asleep, tipped over and cuddling her turtle like it might swim away from her.

'Nothing, I said, but a plain horse and carriage on Mulberry Street.' Beckett leaned over and kissed the little girl's cheek. 'Sweet dreams, sweetie-pie.'

'Datie?'

'Yes?'

'Nooze?'

'No, honey, I'm not sleepy right now, but I'll stay here with you.'

'O-day.' Satisfied with this answer, Tessi curled and flexed her little toes and dropped into slumber; Meredeth and Esposito weren't exaggerating when they said the little girl was a heavy sleeper. As she felt the fluttering low in her belly, Beckett wondered what it would be like in a year and a half's time to do that with her own little boy or girl. She had fond memories of being a child and excited for that moment of bedtime because it was her time with just her mother, one-on-one. Being a professor of law, she often had to work late and weekends weren't always weekends the way children thought of them, but rain or shine, or even over the phone a couple of times, Joanna Beckett had read her daughter a story every night before bed. It was why Beckett had begun to study literature at university before her world was ripped apart her life path irrevocably changed.

Thinking of her mother, Beckett began to feel a little melancholy but the mood was stifled when she heard the creak of floorboards and looked up to see Castle standing in the doorway watching the two dark-haired beauties.

'She's down for the count,' she whispered as her husband moved to sit with her on the bed. 'She wanted a story first.'

'No question she's Meredeth and Javier's baby.'

'It reminded me of my mom and...' Beckett felt her breath catch in her throat when he sat down beside her. 'And how she'd read to me every night before bed, even if she was working late at the office, she'd take the book with her and read it to me over the phone.'

Castle smiled at her, pulled her against his body for an embrace. He knew from the moment they'd had begun to try starting a family she'd carried the ache in her heart that her mother wouldn't be there. Much like Meredeth, he thought; the two women while superficially opposite had far more in common than anyone could have anticipated. He suspected it was why they'd become such good friends.

'I miss her, Rich,' she murmured. 'Do you think...maybe on our way back home when we're done here this weekend we can stop in and visit her?'

'Of course, Kate. Whatever you need.'

For whatever reason, hearing the quiet reassurance in his voice had Beckett's libido thrumming in excitement. It felt a little weird since they were sitting beside the snoozing Tessi so Beckett eased off the bed, holding her husband's hand. 'Come on. We have time for a quick one.'

'Quick one what?'

'Guess, Mister Fancy Writer Man.'

'We can't have sex with Tessi in the bed, that's weird and wrong and Esposito would kill us both, if there was anything left after Meredeth barbecued and filleted us.'

Beckett rolled her eyes, shimmied out of her shorts so she was in her bikini in front of him. 'Tessi is out like a light and we have the ensuite.'

'Oh, that gives a whole new meaning to 'water polo' for me.'

All she had to do now was hold out her hand for him and they were in the door, feeling like babysitting teenagers sneaking off while their young charge napped. Castle had discreetly shut the door, then paused. 'Are you sure this is okay?'

Before she could answer, there was a knock on the outer door of the bedroom, followed by Meredeth's voice. 'Kate? Is Tessi in there with you?'

'Wait one second.'

Beckett left the ensuite to answer her friend; she opened the bedroom door and let the mother come in to pick up her snoozing infant. 'I'll take her downstairs to her playpen in the living room,' she whispered. 'Where's Castle? I thought he was coming up here?'

'He's in the bathroom.'

Recognizing the look on the detective's face, Meredeth winked, then nodded. 'I understand. I'll get little miss out of your hair, then.'

Gratitude for her friend's understanding was overwhelming when Meredeth simply walked downstairs with the snoozing toddler in her arms without another word, and Beckett closed the door as Castle stuck his head out. 'Is it safe to come out and play now?' he asked.

'Meredeth just took Tessi downstairs so...' Beckett flipped the lock on their bedroom. 'We have our room to ourselves.'

She held out her hand and for Castle, it was all the invite he needed. He was across the room in seconds and he fused his mouth to hers, eliciting a soft throaty moan from her. She tasted delicious, fresh and outdoorsy, as he ran his hands over the soft skin over her ever-expanding tummy.

'Kate, you are so beautiful,' he murmured.

'I feel fat.'

'You're pregnant, you're supposed to feel that way. But it's done amazing things for these.' He reached behind her and untied the strings of her bikini top so she was in just her bottoms in front of him and he made no move to hide he was staring at her breasts. 'Yes indeed, the hormone fairy gave you a double dose there.'

His hands slid up the sides of her body to cup her breasts and the move had Beckett groaning in pleasure a little loud this time, so he walked her backward to the bed and eased her back so nothing would befall their unborn one. His shirt went flying next, along with his shorts and boxers and her bikini bottoms so they were naked on the bed together. He nibbled her lips while his hands stayed busy where they were, caressing and squeezing gently at the silk-soft skin. He felt the blood rush in his veins when she pulled him close, short fingernails scraping lightly down his back.

'Rich,' she murmured, trying to breathe though the air felt like syrup in her lungs now.

'Yes, Kate.'

'More.'

'More what?'

'Everything.'

Castle nodded, and moved up to kiss her neck where her pulse was already hammering wildly, then moved down her body so he formed an S with the trail of his kisses before he took her breast into his mouth and rolled his tongue over her rock-hard nipple. Her reaction made him harden against her, when she thrust her hips upward against his and he felt just how ready she already was. A perk of pregnancy hormones, he thought absently, as he moved to her other breast; the sound of rustling fabric told him that her head was rolling from side to side and as much as he knew she wanted him inside her, he would give her as much pleasure as he possibly could.

Beckett bit her lip to keep the loud expression of her passion for him from escaping, knowing it would raise more than a few eyebrows and blushes when they saw everyone. Instead she let it out in little gasps as she felt that glorious mouth move further and further south on her body, over the bump down to to her-

'God!' Her oath was sharp and bright when his lips dipped along the juncture of her thighs, setting off explosions in her body. 'Oh...oh, god Rich.'

Castle smiled against her, those slim and sturdy hands twining through his hair while his own cupped her hips gently to keep her in place; he knew she would twist and writhe against his grip, which made it all the hotter for him. A flick of the tongue and she was in orbit as she sobbed his name and he lapped at her, then kissed the inside of her thigh before moving up her body so he could see the raw need in her eyes. Lifting his hand, he stroked her cheek with his palm as she reached down their bodies to help guide him in. 'Kate,' he groaned when he slipped inside her, so warm and wet, 'I love you.'

'I love you too, Rich.'

Then there was no need for words as they began to move together, forming a single silhouette against the setting sun as they both found delight in release.

Sated and satisfied with the love only her husband could give her, Beckett wrapped both arms and legs around him and gave him a hard kiss. 'That certainly hit the spot,' she said on a yawn.

'You're welcome.'

'Quicker than we normally like but still amazing. You still planning to go into town before dinner?'

'If we want to feed everyone, yes.'

'Okay.' Beckett felt her eyes droop, her breathing slow down. 'Wake me when you're home.'

'Kate,' he started but it was already too late, she was most definitely in snooze-land. 'I feel so loved and used at the same time,' he said in mocking indignation as he rose up off of her and tucked the sheets up around her naked body. With a kiss on her forehead and a murmur of 'sleep well, sweetheart' he made his way into the shower.

Ten minutes later, his bride was still abed and Castle was freshly showered and dressed, and headed downstairs to the kitchen. He greeted Dave and Esposito with a relaxed 'hey guys' that had Esposito snapping his fingers and Dave handing over a fiver.

'Afternoon delight, huh?'

'How could you tell?'

'I have my ways,' Esposito grinned, knowing that neither of them knew Meredeth had come back to the boathouse once they'd finished their own interlude with Tessi in her arms and a grin that told him all he needed to know. 'So Beckett's got that second trimester hormones kick already huh?'

'You might say that,' Castle scanned the contents of the fridge and nodded. 'You two clowns coming with me into town?'

'Sure, and you can regale us with tales of your baby-mama love machine.'

Castle laughed, patting Esposito's shoulder, then squeezed tightly enough to make the detective squawk. 'Call my wife that again and I'll let her use you for target practice.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	13. Moving Day: 17 Weeks

It was a miserable thunderstorming day and Honey-Milk could think of no better way to spend it that cuddled up with one of her two favourtie men. She'd just finished her obstetric certification exams the day before, the laundry was finished, Dell's lunch was ready for when she went back on days the next day, and her on-line banking was done too. There was nothing pressing she had to accomplish so Ryan had decided that morning they should go out for dinner that night, meaning she only had to worry about a small snack for Dell in order to give him his insulin and a little nibble for herself so the baby wouldn't get cranky with the lack of incoming calories.

So while they awaited his end-of-shift, Honey-Milk and Dell were snuggled together on the queen-sized bed with the mini-DVD player and a couple of Muppets discs courtesy of Meredeth. Dell was hooked ever since he was a little guy and had watched them with his back-up mom, as he'd called her once or twice. He was resting his head near her growing bump with his beloved rex under his arm; Honey-Milk often wondered what would happen when he had to go to kindergarten and rex would be staying at home.

'Mama, is Daddy gonna be home soon?'

'Yes, and then we're going out for dinner to the Thai food place you guys both like.'

'I want suh-picy chicken.'

'I would like some spicy chicken,'Honey-Milk gently corrected him. 'Saying 'I want' sounds greedy.'

'I am not greedy, Mama, I-ouch!' Dell sat up, rubbed his head. 'Some-thing hit me.'

Honey-Milk put her hand on her stomach where Dell had been resting and let out a little gasp as she felt the movement there. 'Oh, Dell, it's the baby! It's moving!'

'My suh-now-fuh-lake is moving?'

'Yeah and it gave you a shot in the noggin, it seems.'

Cartoons falling by the wayside, Dell turned around and put his hands on his mother's stomach and giggled at the sensation. 'He or she is alive in there!'

'That's the idea, baby.'

'Hey suh-now-fuh-lake,' he continued, talking directly to the belly, 'I am Dell, I am big buh-rother. Be nice to Mama, she is the best.'

Dell looked up and saw the light sheen of tears on his mother's cheeks; without thinking twice he scooted himself off the bed and grabbed a Kleenex out of the box. IT took a couple of tries but he boosted himself back up and gently as he could dabbed at her tears. 'No cuh-ry Mama.'

'Oh, honey, thank you.'

'We suppose-a be happy.'

'I'm very happy.' Honey-Milk cracked a smile, heard the opening of the front door and gave Dell a wide grin. 'Looks like Daddy's home!'

'Yea!'

Dell scrambled off the bed as he heard his father come in and raced out to hug him. He smelled of bad coffee, light perspiration and something else metallic he didn't know; it was the smell of his dad. 'Daddy! The baby suh-tarted kickin'!'

'Really!'

'Yeah, and Mommy was cuh-rying 'cause she was happy. Why girls do that?'

'A mystery every man has been trying to solve since the dawn of time.' Ryan grinned as he took Dell's hand in his and they walked into the bedroom where his Honey-Milk was indeed a little teary-eyed. Depositing his first born on the bed, he unbuttoned his shirt and tugged it off so he was in his pants only and stretched out beside her. 'Hey baby, and baby. I hear we've got another one on the move?'

'Have a feel.'

Ryan smiled, put his hands on the bump under his wife's shirt and felt the little nudges there. 'He or she is really awake there, huh? When did you first feel it?'

'Maybe ten minutes ago.' Honey-Milk dabbed her fingertips at the corner of her eyes. 'It kicked Dell in the head.'

'Really?'

'Yes, Daddy, we were watching 'toons and it bump me.'

Ryan leaned over to kiss the spot where Dell was rubbing his skull, then kissed Honey-Milk's belly. 'Hey in there, you play nice with Mama and big brother Dell, okay? What's that? Oh, yeah that's a great idea.'

'What? Is baby tellin see-cuh-rets, Daddy?'

'No, just that he or she is really hungry and thinks we should head out for dinner now.'

'But it's barely six,' Honey-Milk pointed out, noting that her hubby was actually home on time.

'And tomorrow we're all going to help Lanie and Dave move into their bigger apartment, which means we need to have a decent night's sleep.'

'I comin' to-morrow?'

'Of course.' Ryan sat up, pulled Dell in for a hug and a raspberry on his stomach, making the boy squeal in delight. 'Now give Mama and baby a kiss and go to your room, I'll be in in a moment to help you get changed, okay?'

'Okay. Love you Mama and baby.'

The little boy put his lips on his mother's growing belly twice, then scampered off; the moment he was gone Honey-Milk broke down into quiet sobs. 'Kev, he's so good with the baby. He's finally excited it about it.'

'I know. You want a minute?'

She nodded. 'For this.'

Ryan started to protest but was cut off when his wife gave him a mind-numbing kiss, the kind that made him momentarily forget Dell was waiting for him.

'And there's more where that came from later tonight,' she purred, giving his cute butt an inviting pinch.

'Promise?'

'Pregnancy hormones never miss.'

'It's a date.'

* * *

'Lanie, do you want the silverware in with the dishes or the kitchen utensils?'

'Utensils, the glasses go in with the dishes.'

'You got it.'

Beckett removed the flatware tray from the kitchen drawer, began to wrap rubber-bands around the contents. It was May thirty-first, moving day for Lanie and Dave and Carey, and while they were only moving a couple of floors in the same building, that still meant cleaning out the entire apartment. Thought the original plan had been to have the kids nearby, the plan was changed when Lili and Cam offered to have them all over to a little play-date at their apartment with Rosie so they woulnd't be underfoot or escape during the commotion of moving. The decision had been a smart one, for ten minutes after Beckett and Castle had arrived, they'd been put to work packing and organizing. Lanie, who was almost at seven months to the day, was in no condition to do more than direct the troops, and with Honey-Milk and Beckett themselves having to take care of smaller tasks than they normally would have accomplished the pace was much slower than Beckett anticipated - Beckett on packing and Honey-Milk unpacking in the new place - but on the other hand, they were helping make the cumbersome task much more manageable for a couple with a small child and another one in the oven.

'I still can't believe Meredeth and Javier did that for us,' Lanie commented as she labeled a box 'Kitchen Wares' while rubbing the spot of her enormously pregnant belly where the baby had given her a big kick.

'Meredeth is quite good at surprises when she wants to be, haven't you figured that one out yet?'

'Still, I didn't think she'd get Kristof to do a replica of the mural in Carey's room for the new place. Don't they have their own careers and problems and everything else to worry about?'

'Part of those things to worry about is their friends and Meredeth commented you were telling her how much Carey loves his 'ani-nals.' Makes perfect sense to me.'

'I suppose.'

'Okay, the silverware is packed with the spoons and knives and everything else kitchen-related.' Beckett went to pick up the box and heard a sharp yell behind her.

'Stop right there, young lady!'

Castle marched in, finger pointed at his wife. 'Don't you even think about lifting that thing, it's far too heavy for a preggo like you.'

'A preggo like me,' Beckett repeated in her best say-it-again I-dare-you voice.

'Yes. Sneer all you want, _Missus Castle_, but you are not lifting anything heavier than a sweater. You're not hurting yourself or the baby.'

Lanie kept the chuckle to herself until the handsome writer was gone and Beckett was left staring after him. 'Man's got a point, Katie,' she said, anticipating her friend's wrath. 'You gotta take it easy on your body.'

'But-'

'Hey, Kate, we have food!' Meredeth sailed in, sunny as a meadow-lark with her cooler bag full of goodies. 'I've got sandwiches, wraps, salads, even cold pizza. What are you feeling?'

'I'm feeling like everyone thinks since I'm carrying Richard Castle's baby I can't do anything anymore.'

Meredeth glanced at Lanie for an explanation. 'Did I miss something?'

'Just a typical daddy-to-be making sure his wife doesn't over do it.'

'And don't say it like that, I mean Jesus!' Ready to tear her hair out all of a sudden, Beckett slumped down into one of the kitchen chairs that had yet to be moved. 'I'm not some brainless, helpless _female_ that needs a big strong man to do all her work for her. God!'

Meredeth and Lanie exchanged glances as Beckett tried to get a grip on herself. 'Feel better?'

'No, I don't. I'm puffy and gassy and hungry and tired and I want to feel like I'm actually pregnant instead of just fat, which is also something I'm turning into! Now I get why you were flipping your lid, Mere.' Beckett gestured to her friend, remembering how sensitive she'd been about her weight gain while carrying Tessi. 'All I want to do right now is eat, sleep, talk to Alexis, and work murder cases. But mostly, just eat, I can't get enough these days.'

'Well in that case, how about a cevap or a caprese?'

'I have no idea what either of those are,' Beckett laughed.

'Cevap is beef sausage, onions and cream cheese on lepinja bread or mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and balsamic on ciabatta.'

'Girl, you are too good to us,' Lanie sighed, rounded the boxes she'd finished with to dig into the food. 'Hit me with that cevap one, it sounds yummy.'

'It's Bosnian, I got it from _Diners Drive-Ins and Dives_.' Meredeth passed her friend a wrapped portion. 'Iced tea or smoothie?'

'Seriously, can I adopt you?'

Beckett laughed, then froze when she felt something inside her body almost go _thud_. Her hand, which she'd outstretched for a caprese from Meredeth dropped like the invisible string holding it up had been severed. She put her hands on the sides of her ever-growing belly and felt it again, then looked up at the women with complete awe.

'It's moving.'

'What?' Meredeth's head snapped up from the cooler bag as she saw the look on her friend's face. 'What?'

'It's moving. I felt...I felt it move.'

'Richard!' Lanie stuck her head out of the apartment doorway and bellowed for the men, who were just stepping off of the elevator. 'Come quick!'

Castle, who'd been enjoying teasing Esposito with Dave about how Meredeth was probably going to have twins next time around, saw the look on Lanie's face and was off at a sprint down the hallway. 'What, what happened?' he asked, then saw the look of pure happiness and joy. 'Kate, what is it?'

'It moved. The baby moved.'

'Oh my god, really?'

Beckett nodded excitedly, moving her hands around her abdomen. 'I felt this little bump, like it was nudging me to say, hey I'm here.'

Castle gave her a hard kiss and knelt down to put his hands on her belly where sure enough, he felt a jab under the fingers of his right hand. 'Hello in there,' he murmured. 'Yeah, we know you, don't we baby? You're getting so big already.'

He felt the kick again under his hand and continued, 'I can't wait to see you, baby, I love you and Mommy very much.'

'Baby says I love you too, Daddy,' Beckett smiled, 'and get up so we can eat.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	14. Early Rollout

'Castle.'

'Huh?'

'Rick, time to go. We caught a case.'

'Kay.'

Castle sat up, glanced at the clock. It was just after four in the morning, which meant they'd gotten about six hours of sleep. Not bad, he thought, but he wanted to talk to Montgomery about the early calls. Not that he wanted special treatment for his wife - she'd use _him_ for target practice if he so much as imagined that - but he also knew that Montgomery would understand him, one husband and father to another.

Swingiing his feet to the floor, he brushed his fingers through his hair and decided that a shower could be skipped this morning in lieu of making sure Beckett had a decent breakfast. _You need some eggs, Margie_, he thought absently as he went to the kitchen. She wasn't fussy on a big breakfast before work so he opted for one of his specialties that his daughter loved, a scrambled egg burrito.

He quickly mixed eggs, peppers, ham and cheese in the frying pan, dumped the cooked contents into a tortilla and folded, and poured her a decaf tea into her travel thermos. Though the doctor said she was perfectly fine with Swiss-water decaf, Beckett had discovered much to her dismay that the notion of coffee entirely was making her sick throughout her pregnancy so far.

By the time he was done, he'd heard the water shut off in the ensuite and the sounds of his girl getting the rest of her morning ready. He went upstairs to dress himself, only to find Beckett muttering aloud.

'Listen, I know it's annoying but guess what, kiddo, Mommy's gotta go to work too. Yeah, yeah, we'll have something to eat. Daddy probably made us something yummy to have in the car. Don't tell Daddy, but Mommy doesn't mind him driving right now since she's getting pretty big to fit behind the wheel of the car.'

'Your secret's safe with me.'

Beckett glanced up and the angle at which she turned had Castle smiling; she looked very much a pregnant cop now. 'Katherine Louise, you are a picture.'

'A picture of what?'

'Of all things feminine. Warrior, goddess, mother, it's a heady trifecta to achieve and you've got all three down before breakfast.'

'I'm not eating any more oatmeal. I don't eat things that look like they've already been chewed for me.'

'Relax, Miss Picky, it's a breakfast burrito.' Castle pulled off his sleep shirt and began to dress for the morning. 'Are Ryan and Esposito meeting us there?'

'No, just Espo, Ryan is...' Beckett trailed off as she took in the sight of her husband, naked to the waist and cursed only slightly at her pregnancy hormones; she could actually feel the saliva pooling in her mouth as she looked at him. 'I'm sorry, what was I saying?'

He glanced over and saw the glazed look in her eyes and had to chuckle. 'Really, Kate?'

'I'm pregnant, Richard, my hormones are out of control. I've never been this worked up in my life so just bear with me here.'

'Hey, I ain't complaining.' Castle tucked in his shirt, belted his slacks. 'I will tease you all the time but I'll never, or almost never, say no.'

Beckett nodded, smiled when she felt the little nudge in her belly. 'Junior here says we can be mushy in the car.'

* * *

Castle dropped Beckett at the crime scene and went to find her something to drink when they arrived at the SRO at Avenue C and Second. Beckett found Esposito there already, on the sidewalk a few feet away from Lanie and the body while uniforms kept foot traffic at bay. The pretty ME was getting even bigger now, if that were possible, and was sitting on the medical gurney the body would eventually be transported on. In her hand was an aluminum to-go bottle with a neon green straw sticking out of it, so Beckett correctly guessed it was filled with one of Meredeth's smoothies.

Esposito glanced up when he saw his boss and her belly coming towards them from the car and held out a similar container to her. 'Meredeth says good morning and enjoy. Banana-mango and you get to keep the bottle.'

'What a good girl. What do we have, Lanie?'

'Aside from gas at both ends and a craving for a double-decker grilled cheese with bacon and poutine?'

Esposito furrowed his brow. 'Poutine?'

'Yeah, it's a Montreal thing Dave loves. French fries topped with cheese curds and smothered in beef gravy.'

'Sounds tasty.'

'It's barely seven-thirty in the morning.' Beckett blinked.

'And Carey's little bro or sis has his or her own ideas about what's acceptable for breakfast.' Lanie paused to sip, then consulted her notes. 'Victim is Diane Coffin, twenty-seven of six-thirty-five East Seventy-Sixth Street. Her purse was still on her and hadn't been ransacked by the locals. No obvious signs of a COD but given the liver temp and last night's overnight temp, I'd put time of death between three and five this morning.'

'Had she been moved?'

Lanie shook her head, the end of her French braid rustling against her shirt. 'No, lividity is consistent with dying right here. Got her purse here, too.'

She passed it to Esposito, who frowned as he looked at the wallet and the contents. 'Cash, credit cards, ID, everything's still here and she's still got that white gold and diamond ring on her finger there. How is this all still here?'

'She was lying on top of it and wearing a dark coat with that ring obscured, unless you really wanna get up close and personal with the deceased you're not going to see it. A little help?' The doctor lifted a hand and Esposito helped her to her feet; she steadied her weight by putting her hand under her ginormous belly. 'Thanks, Detective. I'll get her in the house, see what's what and let you know when I have a COD and other perky details.'

'Thanks Lanie.'

Beckett watched her friend waddle off - with a baby-belly that size it was impossible not to waddle - then turned to Esposito. 'Do I walk like that yet?'

'No.'

'But I will, won't I?'

'Yup.'

'Good to know.' Beckett jammed her hands in her pockets, then pulled them back out with one resting on the top of her bump. 'Alright, have you talked to the building manager yet?'

'Yeah, said when you got here we could have a look at her room.'

'Mm, okay, listen you, I'm working here.'

Esposito turned back and couldn't help but grin: his boss, the cool and level-headed Kate Beckett, had stopped at the foot of the stairs and was massaging her baby bump as she talked to it. 'Problem, Detective?'

'No, just give me a moment. Yes, you in there, Mommy's busy right now. Go have a nap and I promise we'll have a yummy lunch with Daddy, okay? Okay, glad we had this chat.'

* * *

The chat with the SRO manager yielded little about the night of Diane Coffin's murder but plenty about the lady herself - always paid on time, in cash, didn't have much company and most of the time was working on her laptop at the cafe across the street that offered free wi-fi. The beat cops turned up little else as well and when they'd notified the next of kin, it had been a shock to both Esposito and Beckett that the family didn't seemed concerned so much with the death of the woman as the financial mess she left behind in the form of nearly thirty-grand in student debts.

By the time they made it to the precinct to start the standard runs on her phone and financial information, Beckett had polished off the last of the smoothie from Meredeth and made a mental note to ask her for that one again. She stepped off the elevator and saw Ryan was at his desk, having gotten her message about starting the paper trail on their freshest body, coffee at his elbow and stress egg already being squished.

'Hey Ryan, how far have you gotten?' she asked, walking up to his desk.

'I sat down about twenty minutes ago and already want to lose my mind. Cease and desist letter from the Coffin family attorney.'

'Are you friggin joking?'

Ryan shook his head, turned over the paper for Beckett's inspection. 'Apparently they want to have their own people handle the little matter of Diane's untimely death and request that the police investigation yield to their private investigator's inquisition.'

'I'm sorry, their own people?'

'Diane Coffin is the oldest child of Bertand Coffin, of Coffin-Russell Shipping Limited.'

'The grains guy? I thought he was dead.'

Ryan nodded, rolled his egg around in his hands. 'Liver cancer, five years ago in July, left everything to Diane and her younger sister Erin. Diane is a teacher by training currently on the supply list for Kings County and Erin is in medical school at Rockefeller U. Because neither of them have business training, they remain figureheads only while the business stays in the family and passes to their cousin Toben once he is finished at Harvard School of Business.'

'How do you know all this already?'

'Coffin-Russell website. They keep a little profile on the founding family and its descendants, Diane and Erin are the current heiresses, but with Diane gone, Erin gets her share of the inheritance too. We're talking serious cash, the kind that makes Paris Hilton look like a beggar.'

'Medical school doesn't come cheap either, could go to motive even with that kind of bread in the coffers. See what you can dig up on the family in general, I'll deal with these clowns.'

It was easier said than done and by the time Castle arrived with her lunch - he'd been called away by his agent just as they'd parked in the precinct garage for a last-minute meeting - she was ready to tear her hair out because at the very least it would be more productive.

'Hey honey, got you the requested snacks in your text. One chicken BLT toasted with cheese and poutine? Did I say that right?'

'Yeah.' Beckett watched with unmasked drooly glee as he pulled the tinfoil box from the paper bag and she pulled the lid off to sniff. 'Oh, god that smells good.'

'Smells quite interesting.' Castle watched as she shoveled in a rather unladylike bite while making noises that had his brain immediately thinking sex. 'Uh, Kate-'

'What? Don't come between a preggo and her cravings, Richard. You should know better than that,' she replied around her mouthful, then washed it down with ice cold milk. 'And we'll have a big leafy green salad to offset all the crap I'm eating right now.'

'Hey Ryan.'

Castle leaned back in his chair to catch the detective's eye. 'How's Jenny doing with her cravings?'

'Surprisingly not too bad this time around. They're less about specific foods and more about texture. Like instead of having to have a certain kind of unsalted tortilla, she wants anything crunchy. Why?'

'Kate's getting the picky food cravings right now. Think that means she's carrying a boy?'

'I'm right here, I can speak for myself, thank you.' But because the initial edge of hunger was gone now, Beckett paused to wipe her mouth on her napkin. 'Where's Esposito at?'_  
_

'Talking to Gil up in Vice, see if there was any truth to the disturbance calls the SRO manager said kept him occupied during Lanie's time of death window.'

'Okay, well, in the mean time, you and I are going to call up the Coffin-Russell lawyers and demand an explanation for this.' Beckett waved the cease and desist letter. 'I wanna know what they're hiding.'

Ryan nodded, then glanced at his cell as it rang in Honey-Milk's ringtone - Bruce Channel's _Hey Baby_. 'Hi honey,' he said, picking up her call. 'Can't talk long, on my way to burn some lawyers.'

'Don't forget to sharpen your pitchfork.'

'What's up?'

'I'm on shift until ten tonight, do you think you could pick up a few things at the grocery store for me when you're off?'

'Sure.' Ryan picked up a pen. 'Hit me.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	15. Late Night

'Are you really hungry or have you had something to eat?'

'I am hun-guh-ry.'

Ryan nodded as he unlocked the apartment with one hand, keeping an eye on Dell who was poking into the grocery bags. 'Those are for Mama, big guy.'

'Why she get all fancy suh-tuff?'

'Because Mama has to eat for herself and for the baby. Remember how I told you how the baby eats while he or she is inside Mama?'

'The food goes in the belly-button.'

'Close enough.'

Dell, with his tyke-sized backpack on his shoulder and his t-rex under his arm, raced into the apartment and sat down on his little footstool to take off his shoes, then went straight to the bathroom to wash his hands. He was so smart it was a little scary sometimes, Ryan thought, closing the door and taking off his own jacket. 'Have you had your needle yet Dell?'

'Uh-huh, the nurse finish it right before I see you.'

'Good, good.' Ryan scratched his head, trying to put the day's stress behind him. The afternoon he and Beckett had spent dealing with the lawyers from Coffin-Russell had been both revealing and frustrating at the same time in the amount of nonsensical and fantastic stories they were all spinning. No single person had the same story as another, making both detectives roll their eyes and grind their teeth. Hopefully the push on the financial records in the morning when their warrant went through would yield something far more useful.

Now he just wanted a few quiet hours with his boy, maybe play some trucks or dinos with him, take a walk over to the neighbourhood park, even watching the basketball game together would suffice. But it seemed Dell was on a high from his insulin, so hopefully a proper dinner would calm him down; Ryan headed to the fridge and the freezer, saw there wasn't much that would appeal to his boy there - his own tofu, Honey-Milk's leftover cabbage rolls, and a very wide selection of other sundry items. The freezer yielded little else...except a container of Meredeth's ravioli soup, Dell's favourite menu item from his 'back-up mama'.

'Good news, big guy,' he muttered, 'Auntie Merry's making you dinner tonight.'

Within fifteen minutes, the soup was warmed on the stove and Ryan added a couple pieces of toast to it as well, and the smell had Dell stopping his Lego construction site to wander over and sniff like Arturo as he climbed onto his chair at the kitchen table.

'Suh-mells yummy, Daddy.'

'Well, eat up, then needles and a bath, then bed.'

'No.'

'Excuse me, Delaney?'

Dell pouted. 'I am not suh-leepy, I wanna see my suh-now-fuh-lake.'

'Well Mommy won't be home for a few hours and you'll already be asleep.'

'No,' Dell repeated, only this time it was already on a yawn. 'I am not tired.'

* * *

They made it through the bed-time needle with little fussing - they'd agreed to start letting Dell do his own finger-tacks to help him along the road to independently giving himself his insulin shots - and bath-time as well, and despite his protestations, Dell was half asleep by the time Ryan put him in his night-time pull-ups and pjs. With Dell in bed, Ryan finally found the peace he'd craved since the moment the cease-and-desist letter had shown up on his desk that morning and how weird was that to receive from a group of lawyers for a firm like Coffin-Russell? Weird, weird, weird, he mused, his eyelids sinking lower and lower the harder he tried to concentrate on the Celtics-Lakers game on screen. Okay, five minutes, he thought, curling onto his side and the stuffed ichthysaurus in his hand Dell had insisted say hello to the baby when Honey-Milk got home. Five minutes, then he would get up and start making dinner for his lovely pregnant wife who was working the noon-to-ten today.

It was how Honey-Milk found her husband when she arrived home shortly before eleven. She was exhausted but at least the next morning she could sleep a little since since it was her day off before back on the regular eight-to-six day-shift. The baby had been doing some serious jumping jacks the entire night as she dealt with a flu outbreak and a shortened supply of all things cold from the cafeteria; it ad led to her asking one of her nursing interns to improvise and buy a case of Popsicles from the twenty-four-seven across the street from Saint Vincent's to soothe the throats of the tonsillectomy patients who could hardly keep water down without being in tears.

And the worst part was her hormones were going into overload so that by the time she was changing out of her scrubs and into her street clothes, she'd closed her eyes and imagined it was her husband's hands on her, undressing her and caressing the bump. Dell would be in bed and they would have a few hours to themselves for very grown-up fun-times.

The notion of that went nearly right out the window when she saw him curled up on the couch, dead to the world as he snored softly. You couldn't even call it snoring, she thought, clearing a spot on the coffee table to sit down across from him and watch him sleep. It was more like a soft mosquito buzz, the kind of sound that told her he wasn't just napping to refresh himself; he'd had a rough day and his brain was giving him an out.

Reaching out her hand, Honey-Milk stroked his cheek gently. 'Kevin,' she crooned, 'wake-up, we're home.'

'Home?' The word was blurred so that the single syllable stretched for days. He blinked his round blue eyes and Honey-Milk knew she was out of control with her hormones when even the sleep-dulled glaze in them made her want to bite him in interesting places that would raise an eyebrow or two at the precinct gym. 'Jenny, hi, honey, you home early?'

'It's almost eleven.'

'Oh, shit! Shit, shit shit! I'm so sorry!' Ryan swung his feet to the floor, ground the heels of his hands into his eyes. 'I was going to make you dinner, there's...things in the fridge I got for you and-'

'Kevin, it's okay. You had a long day too and you were flying solo in the daddy-plane tonight too.'

'But you're pregnant, I'm supposed to take care of you.'

Honey-Milk weighed her options, but in the end, loins won over logic. 'You want to take care of me right now? Meet in the bedroom in five minutes.'

'For what?'

'Oh, sweetie, you are tired, aren't you?' Honey-Milk stood up, then leaned down to kiss his forehead and whisper in his ear. 'I can always take care of it myself, but where's the fun for you?'

Ryan blinked. Suddenly he wasn't so tired anymore.

* * *

The best feeling in the world, Honey-Milk thought, was a loving, understanding partner who could and did put his or her needs on the back-burner. She knew he was exhausted but she also knew that her husband loved her beyond rational reason and so would please her as best he could given her current energy level.

So it would be slow, she thought, and luxuriating, he lay on top of her, kissing her deeply as his hands combed through her hair. She did her best to arch into his touch but the bump and its extra pounds were making such expressions of joy a little trickier than usual; instead, she pulled her lover close to her as possible.

'Kev,' she murmured, 'I love you so much.'

'I love you too, Jenn. What do you need tonight?'

'Just you.'

Ryan kissed her again, ran his hands over her body. She was so tiny, so petite even when she had her baby bump stretching and changing her body like this. Her breasts were beautiful and round, mirroring her belly, and her face was as adorable as ever to him, even on the days when she had a little snap because she felt fat. Tonight, he knew, he would make her simply feel like his beautiful bride.

With the care of a man seducing his virgin lover, he slid his hand down between her breasts where he felt the thunderclap of her heart at his touch. How long they'd been together and she still wanted his touch on her body like that, he thought. He followed the path of his hands with his mouth, loving how she writhed beneath him. He paused a moment when he heard her inhale sharply as he gently brushed one nipple with his fingertips.

'Easy on the buttons, Kev,' she murmured, 'they're really tender right now.'

'Of course Jenn. Here, let me kiss it better.'

Honey-Milk sighed in deep pleasure as his lips, soft and sweet against the tender peaks of her breasts, shifting her hips to give him better access to her body. This was, hands down the best part of pregnancy, and pitied women who didn't get to feel like this when carrying their child. Her hands found purchase in the bedsheets as those clever hands found their way even farther south over the bump to where she wanted his touch and ached wetly for him. When she felt him slip in, she chuckled at his arched eyebrow.

'Hello, hormones. That feel better?'

'Immensely.' Honey-Milk sighed as he stroked her, licking her lips since her mouth had gone dry. She could feel the spring of the orgasm coil tight and tighter inside, but before it popped, she slid her hand to join his. 'Now.'

'Now?'

'Mm-hmm.'

Knowing tonight was not the night to question her motives, Ryan kissed the palm she'd rested over his, moved so he hovered above her and with her help eased inside her, slick and welcoming. The feel of her had changed since becoming pregnant again, softer somehow, but she was above all else, his beautiful Honey-Milk. With each stroke he watched her eyes, the flickers of pleasuring firing there until there was only the sensation of her walls clenching around him as she came and he followed her over.

Lying side-by-side in their bed, Ryan studied his gorgeous wife, touched her cheek. 'Hey.'

'Hi.'

'You're so pretty, Jenn.'

'I'm fat.'

'You're pregnant.' He pulled her close, rolling her to her other side so he could spoon up against her tightly in order to hold her and the baby close. 'And I've never wanted you more.'

'Even on our honey-moon when we played French-maid dress-up?'

'Okay, that was pretty good too,' he grinned, remembering that rainy afternoon fondly, seeing his wife of just barely a week in high-heels and a very skimpy little dress. 'But this, you me Dell and the next one on the way is awesome too.'

'All we need is the dog and the house in White Plains and I think we would make Esposito look for the nearest oven to stick his head in at our cutesy-ness.'

'He's not exactly one to talk, he's got an actual house with Meredeth and the dog.' Ryan kissed her shoulder, then chuckled with delight as he felt the baby doing some serious high-kicks in his or her mother's stomach. 'Hey in there, take it easy on Mom, she just had a very good workout.'

'Agreed.' Honey-Milk smiled, craned her neck. 'But now that you mention it, I am feeling a little snacky.'

'You need something to eat, when did you last eat?'

'I had a smoothie from Meredeth's stock, a wrap and a muffin around seven. But sex with you does work up an appetite.'

'Well make up your mind fast, I'm not going to last much longer.'

'Okay. Oof!' She winced at the kick she got to her bladder and patted her husband's hand. 'Baby says time to hit the can, Mama.'

Wrapped up in her comfy robe, she did her thing in the bathroom, then stopped in Dell's room to give him a kiss on the head. 'Night, my big bad dino-guy. No monster getting you tonight.'

She walked back into her bedroom, pursed her lips. 'I think I'm going to go for that buffalo chicken on toast you got me and some carrots with bleu cheese. You want some?

But it was too late - as he had predicted before she'd left the bed, Ryan was already fast asleep.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	16. Family Emergency

Beckett was awoken in the middle of the night by the phone ringing. Since she was a cop, it wasn't panic she felt but irritation, at least until she realized it wasn't her cell ringing but the house line. Now a little concerned, she picked up with a groggy, 'Hello?'

'Kate?'

Beckett blinked away sleep, boosted herself up in bed. The young woman's voice was shaky and full of tears she was desperately trying to hide; as someone who'd been a young woman much like her once, Beckett could see right through it. 'Alexis, what's going on?'

'I'm at Orly Airport in Paris, waiting for my flight back to New York.'

Castle, who'd heard his wife awaken beside him, opened his eyes at the worry in Beckett's voice. 'What's going on?'

'Alexis, hold on, I'm putting you on speaker phone, your dad's here too.'

She set the receiver on the pillow between them and pressed the button. The room instantly filled with the background noise of airport foot traffic as Alexis tried to keep it together and speak.

'Lex, why are you calling, aren't you supposed to be flying to Venice with lover-boy?'

'Yeah I was supposed to be but...he ditched me.'

'What?' A fine red haze coated Castle's vision. 'He left you at the airport?'

'No, Dad, he ditched me, as in JP and I are no longer together!'

'But, I just talked to you this morning, everything was fine.'

'It's a long story Dad, and I have to get on the plane, it's landing at LaGuardia at ten am Eastern Standard, it's, um Air France eight-fourteen, okay?'

'Okay, I love you.'

'Love you too, and love you Kate, give the baby a rub for me, okay?'

The last word came out with such a shake Beckett was surprised the phone didn't short out. 'Okay, we'll see you soon.'

'We love you,' Castle added one last time for good measure before the connection went dead. He sat up in bed, cross-legged as he looked at Beckett. 'Kate...what do we do? This is the first guy that Alexis has truly been with, in all senses of the term, and I don't know what to say to her.'

'We meet her and talk to her and find out what the hell happened, then take it one step at a time. In the meantime, I'm going to lay down. No, first, I'm texting Ry-Sposito and Lanie to let them know I'm unavailable tomorrow because of a family emergency.'

Castle only stared at her; he knew while she was excited about the baby, she was apprehensive about being a mother and yet here she was already thinking like one for Alexis. He felt his throat close up a little as she poked at her Blackberry with her thumbs, then one-handedly as she massaged the spot on her belly where she felt a kick or a nudge.

'I know, I want to go to bed too baby, but your big sis is sad and we gotta make sure she feels better,' she murmured, then looked up when she heard his sniffle. 'What?'

'You're amazing, Kate and I love you so much.'

'Love you too.' Her messages sent, Beckett stretched back out on her side to have a staring contest with the house-line handset and vaguely wondered who would win.

* * *

A few hours later, after a mostly-sleepless night, Beckett got her first text message when she awoke with her alarm. _Girl wtf is going on? Is the baby okay? Call me aqap. Lanie_.

She'd barely finished reading it when the next popped up - _Kate, are you okay? Should I send H-M over for inspection? wb. Ryan._

She rubbed her thumb over the screen, and was in the middle of typing back when she got the third text - _Yo Kate, what's the deal? Everything okay w/baby? Don't make us worry. J - _followed by a third one from Meredeth: _K, Javi said there's an emergency, is the baby hurt? xo Mere._ Of course Esposito would have told his wife about it when he got the text and was glad she had so she could text them back the same message as she'd sent to Lanie.

_Baby's fine, Lex is flying home early. Will give deets when known_.

She sent it to them all, and as an afterthought, left a message for her captain explaining the situation that Alexis was making an emergency trip home; he hadn't turned a hair and told her family came first, just keep him updated for when she'd be back on duty. Then, without really knowing her own motivation for it Beckett sent a second text to Lanie, Meredeth and added Honey-Milk's number to the list as well.

_Hey ladies, Lex needs grown-up girl talk and time, cards here around 8pm?_

All three texted her back within the minutes and gave her a resounding yes. She'd just set her phone aside when Castle blinked himself awake, saw she was already up.

'Hey, couldn't sleep?'

'Not really, just got some texts back from the guys and Lanie and Meredeth. I invited the girls here for some cards and time with Alexis, around eight. I figured that way we can have the afternoon together and then she can have the girl-chat time every woman needs after a break-up.'

'You are spectacular, Kate.' Castle scooted closer, kissed her. 'I'm taking the shower first, I won't be long.'

'Okay.'

They were ready to leave by nine and made it to the airport with twenty minutes to spare before Alexis' flight landed, Castle fighting the urge to vent his frustrated impotence as a father, that he couldn't make that heartbreak in his daughter's voice go away with a kiss and a hug, and a candy mudslide like the last time. Alexis had, God help him, lost her virginity to that little French douchebag and the caveman in Castle demanded retribution for JP's callousness.

When he saw Alexis walk through the sliding doors of the International Arrivals gate, he gripped Beckett's hand tightly as he saw his Little Lexie tugging her rolling suitcase along behind her and looking lost as a child in a war-zone. Her blue eyes were so bloodshot from crying they looked green and the moment she saw her parents, moved like smoke through the crowd to get to them before collapsing in her father's arms.

'Daddy,' was all she could say.

'It's okay Lex, Daddy's here.' Castle kissed her forehead, swayed a little on the spot with her, then passed her some napkins out of his jacket pocket. They'd gotten a quick coffee on the way in and he'd loaded up on tissues, knowing both his girls would probably need them. 'Come on.'

He took her suitcase handle from her as Alexis turned herself into Beckett's arms and received the same treatment - soothing murmurs in a comforting voice combined with a kiss on the forehead and a soft rocking back and forth before they walked out, Beckett's arm looped in a bracing way through Alexis'. The moment they were in the car, Alexis let it out.

'I'm so sorry, I know I'm probably screwing everything up by coming here and interrupting but-'

'Nonsense, Lex, this is your home and we are your family,' Beckett reassured her. 'Now walk us through what happened.'

'Well, you know that JP and I have been...involved, right?'

'Right.'

'He kept saying how I needed to loosen up and be flirtier now that we were slee...involved, so I tried but it just seemed to make him laugh more than anything, so I thought, okay, fine, at least he's not being super mean to me or something. And he didn't cancel our plans to go to Venice for the three weeks I had off after my clinical writing course was done so I thought, that's a good sign, right? Then when we were packing last night to go from Paris to Venice-'

'Hang on.' Castle negotiated the turn onto Lexington, waved at her. 'How'd you get from London to Paris?'

'We were taking the train from London to Paris because it was cheaper to get to Venice flying on the continent than from London.'

'Right, right, it slipped my mind. Keep going.'

'Anyways, we stayed at a cheap hotel in Paris and he wanted me to wear this...thing,' Alexis gestured vaguely, 'that totally wasn't my style and it was really embarrassing me, so he said sure not a problem, which brings us to the airport. I went to the ladies room before I checked my baggage and thank god I waited, because I came out of the bathroom and there he is with some French whore in his arms. Yvette.' She all but spat the name like it was a bug that had flown into her mouth. 'And he tells me this is a 'friend' of his he's decided to go with to Venice instead of me.'

'And by friend you mean-' Beckett ventured.

'The girl he'd been seeing a few weeks after we started...being involved.' She couldn't bring herself to use the S-word in front of her father, it was brutal enough to her ego that he'd guessed correctly she and JP were having sex and confronted her over it. 'Said she was the kind of woman he preferred, not an uptight American stick. Then...he gave me three hundred euro to make up the cost difference of my ticket to get it changed to a flight going to New York. They went to security check and I was left standing in Orly looking like a total mug.'

'A what?'

'Mug, a fool.' Alexis swiped her hand under her nose, mortified when she felt the stickiness there. 'So I called you guys after I got a flight home.'

'You did the right thing, honey.' Beckett gave her step-daughter's hand a reassuring squeeze. 'We'd have gone insane worrying about you if you'd flown back to London instead of coming here.'

'I'm sorry, you guys, really, I am, I know the last thing you need is me stressing you out when you have the baby to worry about-'

'Alexis Harper, all that means is we have two babies to worry about.' From his spot behind the wheel Castle flicked his gaze into the rearview mirror to meet his daughter's. 'Like Kate said, if you'd gone right back to London, that would have been a much bigger worry to us at the moment.'

'You want a small something to cheer you up?'

Alexis nodded and Beckett took her hand, put it on the side of the bump where she could feel the baby moving around. 'That's your little brother or sister.'

'Oh my god, that's so beautiful!'

'That's not something we need to worry about for you, is it Lex?'

'Oh God no, I never let JP near me unless he was protected.' Sincerely horrified at the notion, Alexis pulled a face and found herself cracking up a little for the first time since she was at the airport with no boyfriend and no flight to board. 'You're too young to be a grandpa yet, Dad.'

'Good thinking.'

They parked at the SoHo building and made their way inside, Alexis going straight up to her room and closing the door to rest while down in the kitchen Castle went straight to the fridge and pulled out a beer for himself and a Reed's spiced apple for Beckett.

'She's devastated, Rick,' she murmured, settling herself onto the chair on the kitchen table; she was too tired to negotiate the bar stool. 'He just walked out on her with another woman in front of him.'

'It's a good thing he's several time zones away or you'd be arresting me and I'd be hearing the birth of our child through a prison phone-call.' Castle gulped beer, dragged his hands through his hair. 'I don't know what to do to fix it for her.'

Beckett pursed her lips, considered him. 'You remember the Jackie Coonan case?'

'Kinda hard to forget.'

'Well, you told me you'd do whatever I need you to do, including nothing if that was what I wanted. The way you said it, that was how I knew you really cared about me, that you loved me.' Beckett smiled. 'I have no doubt that redhead upstairs knows that too.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	17. One Short Day: 20 Weeks

Beckett couldn't believe it - she was already twenty weeks pregnant and was about to go on a very important date. Alexis had opted to spend the rest of her summer hiatus in New York, and was taking her stepmother shopping for the baby.

'You're sure this is how you want to spend your day, Lex?' Beckett asked, sipping Meredeth's homemade iced tea from her take-along bottle as they left the subway station in Turtle Bay.

'Absolutely. I wasn't even here when you guys found out, I had to hear it over Skype, which despite being more personal than a phone isn't the same as being there with you. And I want to spoil my baby rotten.'

'Fair enough.'

'Are you and Dad going to find out ahead of time?'

Beckett laid her free hand against the side of her stomach, which had seemed to have gone from 'bump' to 'butterball' overnight. 'No. We talked about it and decided we want to be surprised.' She watched Alexis when opened her mouth, then closed it as if she'd decided that was a better option. 'What?'

'I just figured you might know ahead of time because that way you can decorate and plan and buy clothes and stuff, you know? Given your job and that, I just assumed you'd want all that stuff organized, you know?'

'The way I see it, the 'boy or girl' question is one of the last true surprises in the world, and I already told Lanie and everyone I don't want a baby shower until after it's born for that very reason. But we're going to be turning Martha's old room into the nursery and I think we're going with a tropical theme, like palm trees and pontoon boats. The decorator is coming next week to give us some more ideas.'

'Only my dad,' Alexis laughed, then stopped in front a boutique named 'Little Wonders' and opened the door for her stepmother. 'After you, Mom.'

Beckett smiled. 'Thanks, Daughter.'

The boutique was filled wall-to-wall with baby clothes, everything everyone aged zero days to three years would possibly want, for boys and girls alike. There was an entire sectional wall dedicated to onsies in a rainbow of colours and fabrics, another entire for newborn shoes, hats and receiving blankets. Prints and patterns were everywhere and underlying it all was the new-baby smell of talc and milk and fresh soap.

And Castle had given his firstborn his charge card, Beckett realized, as Alexis grabbed a shopping cart - not a basket, a full cart - and made for the rainbow wall.

'I've been doing some reading since I got home in your books and it said that preparing the baby's wardrobe even when you don't know the gender is important because you're taking the first steps towards making room for them in your life.' Alexis stopped and spread her arms wide. 'You should have about twenty or thirty of these, they said, a month's worth in case laundry starts to build up. So I'm thinking like ten white ones and then ten or fifteen colourful ones? What colours are you feeling?'

'No pink or blue,' Beckett said right away as the pretty redhead began to toss organic cotton and bamboo and blended cotton-wool into the cart. 'I like yellow, and green, and purple.'

'Okay then.'

Alexis tossed a few in there, and despite Beckett's protestation, tossed in a pink one and a blue one. 'You can always give a gift to Lanie or Honey-Milk,' she pointed out. 'Or you can use a pink as an emergency back-up even on a boy. Meredeth said she dressed Tessi in the blue stuff they got when she thought she was having a boy when Tessi was fighting that horrible flu-bug. Oh, look at this with the duckies, so cute!'

Beckett had to laugh at Alexis' enthusiasm, it was so good to see her back to her usual chipper self after spending nearly three days in bed nursing her broken heart back into place. Despite the emotional level she'd been invested in, Beckett tended to believe it was more the indignity Alexis had suffered at the airport than the relationship end itself that had her reeling. The cards night Alexis had been invited to with the girls, when they'd trashed their ex-boyfriends and drank beers over Texas Hold'Em had been an excellent step, as had the past July Fourth weekend with everyone in the Hamptons.

'I like this one, with the turtles.' Beckett picked a little newborn-sized romper up with a school of turtles floating over the chest. Pursing her lips, she laid it against her body like she had a baby on her shoulder. 'What do you think, do I look like a mom yet?'

'Definitely.' Alexis snapped the picture on her phone, grinned. 'Dad's going to love it.'

'Don't you dare, missy.'

'Oh, come on, let me have some fun.'

'Young lady, you are on thin ice. Don't-'

'Don't...do this?' Alexis pushed a button and grinned widely as Beckett blanched. 'Wait for it.'

Beckett rounded the shopping cart to yank Alexis phone from her hands and grind it to dust beneath her heel when her own cell chirp-chirped _I Fought The Law_ in her pocket. 'What?' she snarled into the phone.

'Nice to see those preggo hormones are under control.'

'Rick, can you explain to your daughter that when I say no, I mean no?' Beckett rolled her eyes at his laugh. 'Seriously, you're laughing at me right now, think that's very wise?'

'No, but you sound so damn cute. I saw the picture Alexis sent me and you look adorable.'

'I swear to God Richard if you so much as blink at Ryan and Esposito you have that photo, you will be on the couch tonight.'

'Duly noted.' Castle had no intention whatsoever of showing it to his friends; some things even he wanted to keep for himself. 'How are my girls doing with baby shopping?'

'We're having a good time, picking out lots of cute things.'

'Excellent. I expect nothing less than one-hundred percent over-the-moon gushing when I get home, okay?'

'Where are you, even?'

'Watching Tessi and Dell with the two-headed monster in Chelsea while we go over some notes on his and Ryan's death by allergy poisoning. I'll be home before you, though.'

'Of course. Love you.'

'Love you too.'

Castle set his phone back on the table, shook his head. He could tell even amid her outrageously hormone flip-out that his bride was having a good time shopping. Returning to the notes at hand, he caught the stifled grin on Esposito's face. 'Problem, Detective?'

'No, not at all, just fun to see Kate is freaking out from her hormones too.'

'Daddy, dup?' Tessi, who'd been playing contentedly with Dell and his stuffed dinosaur toys on the carpet, had shoved herself to her feet and wandered over, batting her big blue eyes at him. 'Dup?'

'Is it empty?' Esposito asked his little girl.

'Sisi.'

'Okay, bring it over and we'll get it refilled. What do we say?'

'Fafo.'

'Close enough.'

Ryan looked up from the file; it was his turn to give his friend the wall-eye. 'Fafo?'

'We're teaching Tessi Spanish and English together, and _por favor_ seems to be easier for her to say instead of _please_, only because she's still learning words it comes out as _fafo_.' Esposito smiled at her when she brought over her no-spill cup. 'Mommy's in the kitchen working too, go see her, okay?'

'O-day. Ma-my!'

The toddler hollered for her mother as she walked out with Dell following behind her while the grown-up boys continued to work. They'd caught a case of suspicious circumstances, what appeared initially to be a case of anaphylactic shock, but the toxic screens revealed murder so they were going over the details on their on-call afternoon for anything that might tip them to why someone would want to poison a travel agent.

'Okay, so our boy Michael here, he's got no financial indicators that he was in trouble. He had student debt but who doesn't these days and he was making steady payments on them, a little on the low side but paid nonetheless.' Ryan flipped to the next page. 'His phone records show he texted his girlfriend a lot, the sexy kind here and there, and kept a small circle of friends along with his business colleagues, but again nothing out of the ordinary.'

'His girlfriend said every Friday he ate lunch from the place across the street from the travel agency because they were very careful in their kitchen about his peanut allergy,' Esposito adding, reading his notes from interviewing the distraught young woman.

'Peanut's a pretty recognizable flavour, how the hell would he eat a hot seafood plate without noticing it tasted like them?'

'No suh-wearin', Misser Castle,' Dell said in a stern voice, looking up from his toys. 'Daddy, he gotta pay a dollar.'

'You're right Dell. Sorry Rick, that's the rules around Dell. You swear, you pay a dollar.' Ryan held out his hand, accepted the bill from his friend. 'I think it's time for a break, my brain is turning to mush trying to figure out how he would have gotten it into his system.'

'Agreed. Castle, you gonna hang for something to eat?'

'I would love to, but I am working on a little surprise for my shopping bags today.' Castle stood up, frowned at his word choice. 'We'll keep that one between us, okay?'

* * *

'I think I'm glad your father put a limit on the spending today, Alexis, or you'd have bought one of everything.'

'I was taught to appreciate a nice budget, believe it or not. One of the perks of being raised by my father and not a nanny.'

'Can you take that?'

'Oh sure.'

Alexis smiled as she helped Beckett with the bags they'd dragged home from the baby stores in Turtle Bay; the moment they walked in the loft, Beckett could smell it. 'Oh man, oh I know that smell.'

She dropped her purse and the two small shopping bags Alexis had let her carry by the couch and marched belly-first into the kitchen. The baby could sense something was up and was kicking a mean conga rhythm near her spleen as Beckett found Castle by the stove, stirring a pot of soup. Though it was July, Beckett believed that soup, especially French onion, was good anytime of year and was praying that her pregnant nose wasn't leading her astray.

'Is that what I think it is?'

'And hello to you too, honey.' Castle grinned. 'How was shopping?'

'I think if you listen hard enough, you can hear your MasterCard crying. But we have a tonne of super-cute things. You didn't answer my question.'

'Yes, and there's accompanying foods in the oven too.'

'Oh, I love you, Rich.' Unable to stop herself, Beckett gave him the kind of kiss that had Castle momentarily forgetting that Alexis was a mere ten feet away and his hands slipped down to squeeze his wife's ass.

'Dad! Right here!'

'Right, Sorry.' He broke the kiss, and smiled. 'I know it's got someone very happy.'

Beckett just shook her head when he rubbed his hand over her belly and watched his face when he felt the nudges that were wreaking havoc on her innards. 'We need to sit down.'

'You two hungry?'

'Me and Kate or Kate and the baby, Dad?' Alexis asked with a grin.

'Let me answer that by serving you this to start.'

Castle brought over two plates with crackers, cheese, sliced tart green apples and red pepper jelly. 'Our antipasto course.'

'Does it count as antipasto if you've made French food?'

'Lex, why you gotta take away my fun.'

'I'll be right back, Junior says it's time to pee.'

Beckett walked towards the downstairs bathroom, the sound of Castle and Alexis arguing culinary terminology ringing in her ears. 'That's your family, tiny,' she murmured, patting her bump. 'What do you think?'

There was a series of small kicks dangerously close to her bladder and she smiled. 'I love them too.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	18. Check Up Time

'Doc-tor Harvey?'

'Yes, Dell.'

'We see if my baby's a boy or girl?'

Harvey laughed as he checked Honey-Milk's blood-pressure, made some notes to her file. 'I don't think your mom and dad want to know ahead of time.'

'Tell me, I good at keepin' see-cuh-rets.'

Ryan could only roll his eyes good-naturedly at his boy's persistence. The little guy had gone from thinking he was going to be replaced to being the biggest champion and protector of the baby. Since he had Dell on his knee, he pulled him closer to his body and patted his stomach. 'The only person who is going to know is the baby until he or she comes out of Mama.'

'But that is not fair, Mama always says 'share', Daddy.'

'What about when you go shopping with Mama for my birthday or Christmas? Do you share then?'

'No.'

'Well this is kind of like that.'

'Alright, everything's looking good, Jenny, your iron is up at a healthy level which is good to see and your blood pressure and your weight gain are fine.' Harvey peeled off his gloves, smiled at the soon-to-be big brother when the nurse came in with the ultrasound equipment. 'Now it's time for your favourite part, young man.'

'We see the baby now?' Dell asked excitedly, eyes shining in anticipation.

'You betcha.' Harvey paused a moment. He knew it was standard protocol at all, but he knew the boy would get a charge out of it. 'Would you like to help me?'

'Help? How I gonna help?'

Honey-Milk looked equal parts moved and concerned as Ryan helped her lie down on the table. 'Is that okay Harvey?'

'Oh, he won't handle any instruments, Jenny, it's fine. Here.' Harvey put the bottle of blue reading gel into Dell's hands and aimed it for him. 'Now squeeze this like you're putting ketchup on your hot-dogs and when I say stop, you stop, got it?'

'Okay.'

The parents watched as the doctor supervised Dell squeezing the tube of gel over Honey-Milk's belly and listening for when Harvey said 'stop'. Beyond thrilled he'd gotten to be included, Dell stood on the chair beside his mother's belly and examined his work.

'Why we do that, Doc-tor?'

'So this-' Harvey held up the wand for the ultrasound machine '-can work better for seeing the baby. Alright, it's picture time.'

He turned the machine on and moved the instrument over the pregnant bump and Dell gasped dramatically.

'I see my baby! There is my suh-now-fuh-lake! Hi!'

Honey-Milk laughed from her prone position. 'How is everything looking with the bump, Harvey?'

'Very healthy, developing well, we've got a good heartbeat, no signs of breathing difficulties, and the amnio came back last week with no signs of anything we should be concerned about. No hypoglycaemia, no heart or neurological problems. You're growing a healthy baby Jenny.'

'The pan-cuh-reas is workin' right? Baby don' need nee-dells like me?'

'No, Dell, the baby is just fine.' For Honey-Milk and Ryan both, this was a great relief because the last thing either of them wanted was to go through another episode like Dell's diabetic coma they'd experienced before he was three. 'He or she is happy and healthy and excited to meet you.'

'Yea!'

'Cora,' Harvey addressed the nurse who'd been silent as a ghost. 'I believe there are treats in the lounge for this young man for being such a great help, could you take him and go pick one out?'

Cora nodded, knowing that this was often Harvey's code for needing to talk to parents without their young children present. Her warm almond-shaped eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled and held out her hand. 'You like fish, Dell?'

Honey-Milk watched the nurse whom she also knew from her rotations with Harvey take Dell down to the family room, then sat up, using the thin hospital gown to sop up the gooey fluid from her stomach. 'What do you not want him hearing, Harvey?'

'Jenny, your baby is healthy and strong, but it is a big baby. Based on the development I've seen so far, I'm thinking we need to consider a C-section as our principle birth plan.'

'Oh. Okay.' Ryan picked up his wife's hand, wasn't at all surprised to find the fingers tense. Now he understood why the OBGYN had the nurse take Dell out. 'Umm, what...why?'

'Based on the rate of growth, Jenny's vagina simply won't allow safe passage of a baby that size. It's looking like it will be around nine pounds.'

'But how do we know that that won't change, I mean I'm only twenty weeks, right? There's still another three and a half months to go.' Honey-Milk tried to stay calm; the last thing she wanted was surgery but she also wouldn't put the baby or herself at risk. 'And we thought Dell was going to be around eight, and he ended up being under seven pounds because he was three weeks early.'

'I know the idea of surgery is scary, and we only use it when there are no other options. Jenny, this isn't a reflection on you or how you're caring for yourself during this pregnancy. Everyone is different. I've had mothers with three or four babies give birth three and four different ways. I've even delivered a set of twins with one being pushed out and one being cut out.' Harvey set his mouth in a firm line. 'I'm not telling you this to scare you, I'm telling you this is the plan to make sure Dell's little brother or sister and you make it through safely, okay?'

Honey-Milk nodded. 'Will I still attend birthing classes?'

'I'm going to set you up with a special class for women in your situation, who've experienced or are going to experience C-section births for the simple reason that you've had a baby via vaginal delivery already and for many women those techniques like riding a bike. The body just remembers what to do. More than anything you need to talk to Dell and explain this to him.'

Ryan had to literally bite his tongue in order not to lash out at Harvey. The notion that his precious honey-bee would be butchered like a pig for bacon chilled him to the bone. 'Of course. Thank you Harvey.'

'Alright, then you're good to go, I'd like to see you at the end of July to check up on your development.' Harvey recognized the strain in Ryan's voice and knew it was time to exit.

The moment he was gone, Ryan exploded while his wife calmly redressed. 'Who the fuck does he think he is, saying those things?'

'Kev-'

'No, I'm sorry, but he shouldn't have said that unless he was one-hundred percent certain it's what you're going to need. Now we have to tell Dell there's the possibility of you...' Ryan trailed off as his voice cracked a little. 'I made a promise when we got married to keep you safe.'

'I know. I'm scared too, I'm the one who might to have the surgery, but it's a lot different now than even five years ago. I'll be awake and talking, for one.'

The idea of Honey-Milk awake during surgery, in pain on a cold steel table, alone and afraid nearly had Ryan on the ceiling. 'What?'

'They don't use full anesthetic anymore, it's a regional numbing agent like a spinal block or epidural, so you can still be in there coaching and supporting me.' Honey-Milk smiled at her husband's pale face, found the courage to laugh a little. 'What did you think, it'd be like the nineteen fifties and you're in the waiting room pacing and handing out cigars?'

'A little, year. I've never go through a C-section before. All my sisters had their husbands with them.'

'Oh, baby, I'm sorry, I just thought you knew about that from all the reading you've done.'

Ryan shook his head, guilt and embarrassment flooding through him. 'Jesus, Jenn, I'm so sorry for spazzing on you like that.' He caught her in a fierce hug. 'I love you and we'll do whatever's right for the baby.'

'Agreed, and I love you too.'

The door was opened and Dell raced back in, a variety-pack of Sandy Lion stickers in his hands. 'Look what Miss Cora said I can keep! Thank you Miss Cora,' he said looking over his shoulder and smiling at the nurse who winked and closed the door; Ryan boosted the boy onto the exam table beside Honey-Milk. 'She is very nice, Mama.'

'That's good, Listen, sweetie, we need to tell you something about the baby.'

Dell felt his little heart sink. There was no longer the fear of being replaced; this was a new kind of fear and unexpected. 'Some-thin' wrong with my baby?'

'No, the baby's fine Dell.'

'So why you have your sad-face on?'

Ryan shook his head. Nothing got by Dell. 'Remember we talked about where babies come from?'

'Mamas guh-row them inside and then they come out the puh-rivate parts when they ready.'

'Right, well most babies do.' Honey-Milk took her son's hand in hers and instantly felt a little more at ease. 'Sometimes when the mama's body is small like mine and the baby is a big baby, the doctors have to to an operation to get the baby out and Doctor Harvey said I might need that.'

'Will it hurt?'

'No, sweetie, they give me medicine so that I don't hurt.'

'And that is how my baby gonna suh-tay safe?'

'Yes.'

Dell shrugged. 'Okay, Mama. Doc-tors know best. That is why they are called doc-tors.'

Ryan shook his head at himself. He'd just been outmanned by his almost four-year-old son. 'I love you so much Dell, you are being such a brave big boy for your little brother or sister.'

'I love you too Daddy.'

'Hey, I almost forgot. Mama and I were going to surprise you but since you're being so good right now...' Ryan leaned over to look Dell in the eye. 'Promise to use your indoor voice?'

'Uh-huh.'

'We're having dinner with Meredeth and Javier and Tessi at their house tonight.'

Dell clapped his hands to his mouth. 'Yea! I get to see my Tessi? We get to read and play dinos and maybe Legos too?'

'Whatever her parents say is acceptable.'

'What's ah-said-able mean?'

'Whatever they say she's allowed to do.'

'Can I share my new suh-tickers? I got fishies just for her. Is that ah-said-able?'

'That's better than acceptable, that is very sweet.'

'I got some for the baby, too.' Dell flipped open the book and found the page that was covered in shiny, rainbow-hued stars. 'Ev-ery-one likes stars.'

'That is also very sweet Dell. Now, let's get out of here, we've got to do a little shopping before we go to see Meredeth and Javier.'

'And Tessi.'

Ryan laughed. 'Yes, how could we forget Tessi.'

'I gonna marry her, Daddy.'

'Whatever you say, little bro.'

* * *

Later, in bed after they'd eaten - the men had spent the night going over more case notes on the allergy poisoning while the girls worked in the kitchen on stocking the Ryan household freezer and the babies playing contentedly together - Ryan spooned against his wife, putting his hand over her belly and kissed her bare shoulder tenderly.

'Honey, really, I'm so sorry for freaking out earlier.'

'Kev, I understand and I told you your forgiven.'

'No.' He nudged and poked at her shoulder until she rolled to her back and he kissed her deeply, sweetly. 'Let me _really_ make it up to you.'

Honey-Milk batted her eyes at Ryan in the dim light cast through their bedroom window. 'Well, if you know of a way to get back in my good graces...'

By the time he was finished feasting on her body, the baby was giving her irritated kicks to the intestines and she was grinning widely.

'Apology very much accepted, Kevin.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	19. Strangeness A

'Beckett.'

'Hey Katie-Lou.'

'Dad, hi.'

Beckett sat up from her comfortable position on the couch where she was reviewing work notes. She glanced at the clock, saw it was nearly midnight. 'What's going on, why are you up so late?'

'On my way to bed, but I was wondering if I could stop by the palace tomorrow morning. I was going through our storage unit and found some things I'd like to give you, for the baby.'

'Sure, why don't you come for breakfast?'

'Sounds fantastic. Richard is treating you well?'

'He's been insufferable, making me drinking milk and wear flat shoes and rub all this disgusting butter-lotion on my baby bump.'

'So in other words, being an expectant daddy.' Jim Beckett had to laugh at the frustration of his only child. 'The man loves you very much, Kate.'

'I know, Dad, I love him too. I'll see you in the morning, around nine?'

'Perfect. Love you, Katie-Lou.'

'Love you too Dad.'

Beckett hung up the phone, rubbing her belly. Her father had been quite supportive of the whole baby decision much to her surprise. She'd have thought for sure he was going to be telling her that if she was planning to be a cop and a mother, she should consider a transfer to a safer - and therefore in her mind softer - specialization. But instead he'd made sure that she was staying safe by calling far more frequently, even though his own work schedule wouldn't permit him to visit as much as he wanted.

Setting down her pen, Beckett levered herself off the couch, a task that was becoming more and more cumbersome the bigger she got. She wandered into Castle's office, saw he was deep in Writer-Boy mode; his fingers were flying over the keys of his laptop and his eyes darting from his hand-written notes to the screen and back. He sat back, breathed like a diver coming up from the depths as he folded his hands on top of his head.

'Nikki sighed, muttering under her breath. The nerve Rook had to just be such a ... such a what? What is he acting like?'

'Like a big puss?'

Castle glanced up and felt his heart warm instantly when he saw Beckett there, supporting her growing pregnant belly from both the top and bottom. Her face was rounding out with baby fat but the look in her eyes was the same. Even in her at home maternity wear of a loose top and shorts she was still every inch a cop. 'Kind of. Rook is trying to worm the details out of Lauren Perry about their first 'official' date, those girl details ladies love to share and Nikki's temper is shorting out.'

'Oh, you mean the kind that we shared at Meredeth and Lanie's bachelorette parties?'

'I saw the wreckage to the apartment after that weekend, I _know_ you were all sharing juicy info. Guys have it all wrong, the girls are into the dirty locker-room talk way more than guys.'

'I don't know if I'd say it's a question of more or less. Guys tend to objectify their conquests, women make it personal. Not emotional, personal.'

'What's the difference?'

'We use names, Richard.' Beckett leaned over as close as she could and patted his cheek. 'We don't just say 'I hit that, those are hot,' We say 'so-and-so has this feature' or 'so-and-so was a total dud', things like that.'

'Did you say 'dud' or 'stud'?'

'Who said you were either?'

Castle's laugh was rich and low. 'You hear that? Mommy's teasing Daddy,' he told the bump. He pressed his cheek against her belly and was pleased when he felt the nudge against his face. 'Yeah, I know it's mean isn't it? Oh, you think it's funny, knock it off, I hear you laughing in there.'

'Rich-'

'In a minute Kate. So what do you think the word is I'm searching for? Uh-huh. Uh, okay, not very nice language from a foetus, but it does work. Thanks.' Castle kissed the belly and turned back to his screen. 'Give me ten more words.'

'Ten.'

'The nerve Rook had to act so god-damned cavalier around Lauren was infuriating. There. Ten words.'

'One two three four...' Beckett flicked a finger out to count the sentence he'd just concluded. 'There's thirteen.'

'You're going to give me crap over that?' Deciding it was time to switch topics Castle stretched his arms skyward, then stood. 'Who was on the phone?'

'My dad, he's coming for breakfast tomorrow, he said he has some baby stuff from our family storage unit he wants to give us...or not.' Beckett sighed when her phone buzzed in her shorts' pocket. 'Beckett.'

'Yeah, it's Ryan. We caught one and you're going to want to see this. Both of you.'

'Where are you?'

'Union Square Park, the north end by East Seventeenth.'

'Okay, we'll be there shortly.'

Ryan hung up his cell, examined the body in front of him, or rather the body parts - four arms all severed two inches above the elbow joint. He'd seen some weird and twisted things in his time with the NYPD, some of which had come after the arrival of Castle; the diamond-smuggling snakes and the dominatrix covered in caramel had certainly been unique. But this one was creepy and twisted and a few other words that escaped him right now. On top of which, the city was experiencing a sudden heat wave after the relative cool of the first half of July and since lovely Lanie, who was sweating her pregnant buns off even at nine-thirty at night, had little to give them his and Esposito's patience was both running short.

'Roarke, bring the witness over please,' he hollered to the uniform who was keeping the shaken man at bay and shielded from the grisly sight. 'Sir, I'm Detective Ryan, can you walk me through exactly what you were doing when you found the...remains?'

'Yessir I can do that for you.' The man was a coffee-skinned beanpole whose spring of wiry dreadlocks were multicoloured like he'd dyed his hair with Skittles and he spoke with a musical Carib-French accent. 'I am finishing my shift at The Smokehouse Tavern on West Eighteen around eight and I been working since noon. So I think to myself save your subway money and take a nice walk home through the park, is faster than the subway and smells better too. I stop for a cold drink from the trolley-man and decide I am in no rush to be inside so I sit down on the bench there and I can feel my shoe is untied so I lean down to tie it and that is when I see it. The pieces.'

'You didn't notice them before you sat down, or the smell?'

'It was dark from the trees and I been in a kitchen around fresh meat all day, I thought the smell was coming from me. You sweat in places like that, you sweat like what you smell.'

'Okay.' Ryan caught Esposito's nod where he stood with Lanie in her medical mask. 'Excuse me.' He joined his partner and the very pregnant ME; Lanie looked so sweaty and puffy he had to wonder if she would last much longer before she went into labour.

'I can tell you right now, those body parts are not from the same person, but I can infer they are all female of approximately the same age.' Lanie paused to massage her belly near her navel. 'And that they were severed from the rest of the body after they died.'

'This is going to be nasty,' Esposito commented, then grinned, glad for some levity when he saw Beckett's Crown Vic roll up and Beckett most definitely waddled up to the tape, flashing her badge on its chain around her neck. 'Mother Goose, incoming.'

'Oh, I dare you to say that to her face,' Lanie giggled; Dave had called her the same thing when they'd been flaked out in the new apartment watching TV before she'd gotten the call to the scene. 'Detective.'

'Doctor. You are huge.'

'I'm feelin' it and I'll try to do as much of this as I can but as of Monday, I might have to pass it off.'

'Why, you havin' a baby or something?' Castle teased her.

'I am starting my maternity leave early this time. Dave and I exchanged a few words on the subject but the bottom line is that he doesn't want me in the field much longer before Junior comes. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to show Detective Beckett what we're dealing with here.'

Beckett followed her friend over, and the three men watched them go like construction workers watching hotties in heels walk off. 'You think they know they walk like that?' Castle mused, watching the way his wife displaced her weight as she compensated for the baby she was growing.

'Nope. Meredeth denied it every time I told her she was a little duck wandering around the house or the city and maybe I should wear my glasses more often,' Esposito laughed. 'We're thinking of another one soon too.'

'Already?'

'We want a big family and our kids close in age.' Esposito shrugged. 'We're already good at practicing anyways, so-'

Before Ryan's head could explode in embarrassing memories being relived, Esposito's cellphone rang and he took the call, then began to speak in rapid, excited Spanish; the grin on his face was huge when he hung up.

'Something you wanna share, bro?'

'Was Meredeth making a Heart of Chelios cake?' Castle asked with piqued interest. His wife had put in a request for that cake as their wedding dessert and he'd thanked god a million times on their honey-moon in Monte Carlo she had.

'My sister's pregnant again.'

'Hey, that's great, bro.' Ryan held out his fingertips and Esposito fed the birds. 'You think it's something in the water this year? That's four pregnant women in our circle of friends so far this year.'

'She said they just got the confirmation back from the doctor this afternoon and she isn't due until next January.'

'Gentlemen!' Beckett bellowed for her cohorts and they snapped to attention. She turned her attention back to the bench where their witness had taken a rather ill-timed break on his walk home. 'This is hands-down the weirdest case I've ever encountered. Why dump body-parts in this area? Because it's part of a game,' she answered herself. 'Lanie, when you get back to the lab, can you run a black-light photo=test on these?'

'You're thinking the killer left some of himself there?'

'I'm thinking he left us a note or a taunt of some kind in black-light pen so that we'll think we've got nothing when in fact it's under our noses the entire time.' Despite the rancid stench, Beckett caught the tantalizing scent of a hot-dog and pretzel wagon. 'Can you smell that?' she murmured to Lanie.

'Oh yeah. Dinner was a while ago and the hitch-hiker is in the mood for a foot-long with cheese and onions.'

'Maybe a pretzel too, the good kind with honey-mustard.'

Since she could feel saliva pooling in her mouth, Beckett clapped her hand on Castle's shoulder when he moved closer. 'Richard, dear, why don't you go see that hot-dog guy about getting me and Lanie some snacks?'

'Excuse me Detective?'

'Snacks. Hot-dogs, two each, lots of ketchup on mine and loaded for Lanie, maybe some iced tea and a pretzel to split.'

'What, no side of coleslaw or mixed berry salad?'

'Sure, if they've got it,' Lanie said, not missing a beat from writing up her on scene report. 'And make it snappy, I've got to get these arms back to the morgue for examination.'

Castle looked at his fellow men for a little back-up, but Ryan was suddenly very interested in his interview notes while Esposito texted Meredeth a quick love-you note. He could have easily called them out as cowards but he also knew they were smart men with their own wives who'd both been through pregnancy and could tell when to dive in and when to head for the bomb shelter. 'Fine, hot-dogs and pretzels, coming right up.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	20. Strangeness B

Ryan watched no with little fascination how the very-pregnant Beckett scarfed down a street-dog single-handedly while typing something into her computer. He knew firsthand how terrifying the appetite of a pregnant woman could be, and clearly his boss was no exception. It was comforting, in a way, to know that such a Wonder-Woman was as vulnerable as the rest of them.

'We won't be able to get warrants until at least ten am,' he said cautiously, tossing his stress-egg from hand to hand, 'and that might be a wait because it's Saturday. Same with the phone records and we can't do a canvass until we get ID's on the owners of the arms which Lanie said we won't have until tomorrow morning anyways.'

'Your point Detective?'

'Why don't you go home and rest?'

Castle came in with a bottle of carbonated water which he passed to Beckett. 'You're absolutely right, Kevin. There is no way I'm letting you sit up the entire night, and neither will the baby. Besides, we're having your dad over for breakfast tomorrow morning, Ryan you and Espo come too and we'll work out of the loft.'

'Well, don't you have that all nicely tied up?' Beckett grumbled, but since the baby was giving her stomach annoyed kicks at the lack of bed-time, she relented. 'Fine, I'lll go home.'

Castle watched her toddle off to the bathroom and shook his head. 'All it took was getting her pregnant to get her to listen to reason,' he mused, making Ryan laugh. He turned back to face the 'Where's your work-wife?'

'Oh, he's upstairs talking to Gil Mazzara, see if they have anything in Vice that might give us a hand on this one.' Ryan wondered how much crap Esposito would give him if he knew Castle had called him such and decided not to tempt the fates by bringing it up. 'Breakfast tomorrow, huh?'

'Yeah, waffles, eggs, bacon, fruit, whatever you want. You guys are working, I'll Mister-Mom it to feed you all. Though be forewarned, if you take even a single drop of the orange juice Beckett will use your testicles for maracas. 'How have you been doing with your baby mama?'

'Jenn's a hero, though truth be told, I've been a little more concerned about Dell and how he's handling it all.'

'I remember you saying that, he was freaked out that you and Jenny wanted to replace him?'

Ryan nodded, remembering the bruise his heart had taken. 'I've never felt more like a failure as a parent than that moment.'

'We all have those moments. His birthday is coming up soon, isn't it?'

'Wednesday. We're having the little kids over - Carey, Rosie, Kelley, Tessi - on Saturday for a party and then the grown-ups get their party that night at Meredeth and Javi's. Ryan.' He answered the ringing phone on Beckett's desk, saw his boss come back from the bathroom. 'Hold on Lanie, gonna put you on speaker phone.'

He pushed a button, gestured for Beckett to hurry up. 'Alright, go ahead Lanie.'

'We identified three of the four arms. One was a full set, and we identified the right hand as well. The full set is Nadine Plummer and the right hand is Amanda Moltabino.'

'You got prints?' Beckett asked, twisting off the cap of the water-bottle Castle passed her.

'Not exactly. I ran that black light test you asked for and their names were written there. The left hand we're still working on because there was no black-light, just a bunch of numbers so CSU is trying to sort out the stuff. I'm on nights tonight anyways so I'm going to keep working and I'll buzz you early tomorrow morning.'

'We're all working from my home tomorrow morning, so come by after you're off-shift. Breakfast is included,' Beckett told her and she swore she could hear Lanie's stomach rumble through the phone line.

'Sounds good, I'll see you around eight. Dave might come with, he's picking me up.'

'Bring him along.'

'Cool. See ya in the am.'

The line went dead and Beckett hung up, saw Esposito coming downstairs from Vice. 'You find anything?'

'Not a single damn thing. Gil said they've got no cases opened or closed in the Union Square area and he's put some feelers out in Violent Crimes to see if they turn anything up.' Esposito dragged his hand over his face. He'd been in bed with Meredeth about to get a second spoon of sugar when he'd been tagged and having his night with his wife interrupted was enough to make him cranky. 'I'm friggin' exhausted. Tessi's cutting more teeth and just feeling absolutely miserable, and I just want to be home to give Mere a break.'

'Well, bring them both for breakfast tomorrow,' Castle offered, adding, 'Ryan would Jenny and Dell want to come?'

'Jenny's on days tomorrow and Dell's going with her to the preschool.'

'Alright, time to call it a night, boys. The three of us will see you bright and shiny tomorrow morning at seven thirty.'

'Have a heart, Beckett,' Esposito very nearly whined, 'it's almost two am now.'

'Fine, eight.'

'A whole extra half an hour. Yippee.'

'And you are going home and sleeping yourself.' Castle offered Beckett his arm and was pleased when she took it. 'You want to cancel with your dad?'

'No. I want to see us working at home.'

'Alright. But for now, sleep.'

'Agreed.'

* * *

The next morning, the SoHo loft was busy as a bee-hive. Beckett had woken at seven, much to the baby's irritation but it calmed down when she indulged in a lobster-boiling-worthy shower. The baby loved hot steaming showers and baths, it seemed, so when she had screwy nights like this, she indulged him or her with such a peace offering.

Dressed in loose summer pants and a fun maternity top in blues and greens, she made her way downstairs and wasn't surprised to find her father already there, sharing coffee with her husband. Walking in with a smile, Beckett kissed her dad's cheek. 'Hi, Daddy.'

'Hi honey. How's my grandbaby this morning?' Jim asked, rubbing his hand on the bump. It was an amazing thing to think of his little girl married and pregnant; after Joanna had died and she'd become a career-driven cop she would think of those things as girly and unimportant. He was very happy to have been proven wrong.

'Cranky we didn't get enough sleep last night but also happy we had a very hot steaming shower this morning.'

'Be careful with that, I don't want a poached foetus.' Castle waved his bacon-flipping spatula like a rapier. 'And I really don't want it to be hard-boiled either.'

'I'm careful. I'm doing everything right, making sure I eat and drink lots, resting when I can and no more high heels.'

Jim nodded, sagely saying nothing; he knew how much his daughter loved her spiky shoes even though he thought she'd be better off wearing a sturdy pair of stylish flat boots to work for chasing down criminals. It was his everlasting amazement that she'd yet to turn an ankle in those skyscrapers in pursuit of a suspect. But he also knew his daughter's heart well and that whatever apprehension she was facing about being a good mother, she would always do the right thing.

'I wanted to give you these,' he said, reaching down to the bag. 'Every baby needs the family antique blankets, right? And there's this.'

Beckett's throat slammed shut when she saw him hand her the ragged purple rabbit with the odd-button eyes. 'You found Fish-Face.'

'He was in the trunk with your baby blankets.' Jim smiled, tried to fight the tears in his eyes. 'Your mom always said that would become your family heirloom.'

'Thank so you much.' Sniffling, she rounded the island to give her father a hug, pillowing her cheek on his shoulder and breathing deeply the scent of him, of her childhood.

'You're going to be the mama now, your mom knew you'd want those things.'

'Oh, damn it, Daddy.'

She was in full on sob-mode now, Jim and Castle just rolling with it as he finished the bacon and started on the veggie breakfast sausage for Ryan. By the time her tears had dried, the breakfast was ready to go and there was a plate of bacon, toast, home-fries and fruit in front of her which she began to munch on.

'Thanks, you guys.'

'Both of us have gone through it, Katie-Lou,' Jim reminded his daughter. 'Nothing a tissue and a pair of over-easy won't fix.'

He glanced over when the door opened and Ryan and Esposito wandered in; Ryan carried a box of files in his hands while Esposito had a grocery bag.

'Meredeth says good morning and sorry for skipping out, but Tessi is not fit for company. Her teeth are hurting her way too much, so Meredeth sent over some blackberry iced tea.' Esposito dug out the sealed containers of tea, then held out his hand to shake Jim's. 'Mister Beckett, always a pleasure.'

'Gentlemen, good to see you again.' Recognizing his cue to exit, he gave his daughter one last kiss and hug. 'I'll call you sometime this week, Katie-Lou. I love you.'

'Love you too, Dad.'

'What a softie,' Ryan teased her, take a seat and eyeing up the treats before him.

'Like you're one to talk. Oh, Ryan I made soy-sauge for you.' Castle passed over a plate of faux-breakfast meat as the two detectives began to fix their plates.

'Thanks bro.'

'Aren't I the lucky one who-oh!'

Beckett's words were cut off when she suddenly felt a sharp pain across her belly, like a hand clenching around her abdomen. Her eyes burned at the sudden spasm and she bent double, gripping the edge of the counter. Instantly Castle was at her side while the two-headed monster got to their feet,

'Kate what is it?' Castle asked, all business.

'I...I don't know, I think...I don't know. Richard?'

'Did it feel like someone punched you or hugged way too tight?' Ryan asked.

'Like you were trying to squeeze into jeans four sizes too small,' Esposito added.

'Uh-huh.'

'Braxton-Hicks,' the men chorused, with Castle adding, 'Kate, you need to get some more sleep, so you're going to eat and then you're going back upstairs.'

'Castle, I'm not going back to bed, I've got my team meeting here for the rather-grisly discovery of four severed arms with bodies that need to be found before we find more body parts in other parks.'

'Yes you've your team meeting here. A team that consists of three men who are already fathers, and a woman who is about to be a mother for the second time. If anyone is going to understand what your body needs right now, it's them.' Now it was steel in his voice and his eyes as Castle stared his formidable bride down. 'Kate, you're overtired and you need to listen to your body. I'm going to draw your a soothing bath and you're going to sleep.'

'Fine,' she snapped as Castle left the kitchen, then clenched her eyes shut when she felt another clench around her belly, couple with the baby kicking. She gripped the counter-top tightly. 'Fine,' she repeated in a totally different, much softer tone as she looked at her friends. 'I'm sorry. I'm-'

Esposito and Ryan both froze as Beckett broke down into exhausted, frustrated sobs before their eyes. They'd seen her snap before but that had been when she was trying to save Dick Coonan by givign him CPR. This was a herd of differently-coloured horses entirely.

'I couldn't find the bubbles you like, so...' Castle trailed off when he saw his baby-mama leaning against the counter, swiping at her eyes while Ryan and Esposito just stared. 'Katie, it's okay.'

'I'm so tired,' she admitted, as he walked her up the stairs, leaving the other two to stare after her.

'Dude, we need to do something for her,' Ryan muttered.

'How about solving that four-armed bandit case?'

'No, for the baby, numb-nuts.'

'Oh, right.' Esposito paused, frowned. 'How about we do both?'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	21. The Straight Goods

The bath helped, which didn't surprise Beckett at all. Her MO after emotional turmoil had always been to retreat into her watery think-tank, as her mother had always called it for her. Now, she was redressed with her hair in pig-tail braids and curled onto her side with an audio-book copy of _Dead Heat_, the third book of the Nikki Heat saga when Nikki and Rook had been drawn into the world of underground high-stakes gambling while Raley and Ochoa had investigated a series of 'dedication' homicides leading them to a beautiful author, Marguerite Chapman, who had turned Ochoa's head after things with Lauren fizzled. She remembered the hell Castle had caught when he'd written Meredeth as what she thought was a consolation prize for Ochoa until Castle pointed out that in the mythology of Nikki Heat, Ochoa and Lauren had never made it past the flirting stage, much in the way Lanie had tried her damnedest to get Esposito on her hook and that trout wouldn't bite.

It was so weird the way people's hormones made them go a little crazy, she thought, rubbing her hand in soothing circles over her belly. Of course, she had the perfect excuse for hers to go berserk right now, but she still had to be a cop, and that meant dealing with inopportune work hours. And Castle acting like she was some kind of incompetent fool hadn't helped; she wasn't even going to dwell on the reputation-ruining crying explosion she'd had in front of Ry-Sposito, even if they were her favourite two-headed monster.

Sighing pitifully, she changed the track on her iPod to a video of _Glee_, a very personal guilty pleasure but she could legitimately rationalize it - Naya Rivera, everyone's favourite bad girl, had been cast as the pop-star Soleil Grey in the follow-up film to _Heat Wave_ and she wanted to hear the girl in action. Listening to her cover of Amy Winehouse's rendition of The Zutons' _Valerie_ was at the very least making the baby happy even if Beckett herself still felt shitty.

With her eyes close and ears full of music, she didn't hear the heavy footfalls outside her bedroom door, and assumed when she felt the body near the bed it was her ever-loving hubby come to check on her. Then her earbud was rudely yanked out and she heard her friend's voice full of irritation and loving concern.

'Girl, I am on a countdown to popping this baby out so you better have a good excuse as to why Castle would make me walk upstairs.'

'Good morning to you too, Lanie.'

'Save it.' Tired herself and out of patience for bullshit, Lanie eased her pregnant bulk onto the bed beside Beckett. 'Talk to me.'

'About what, the fact that my husband is making a show of bossing me around and kicking me off work cases-'

'Kate, you're pregnant. You need to get it in your head that you can't keep the same hours anymore. You have to go to Montgomery and work something out or you're going to be putting your baby at serious risk for problems.'

'So what if I'm pregnant? My mother was a second-year professor when she was pregnant with me, didn't even have tenure yet, and was teaching and grading and that wasn't including when she would be working on court cases and had to work eighteen hour days. She did it, why can't I?'

Lanie furrowed her brow. 'Is that what this is about?'

'If I'm not a good cop, then...I've let her down.'

'And what would your mother say if she were here now, watching you grow a baby inside you?'

For Beckett, this was the breaking point. She heaved a weighty sigh and tried to chose her words so she wouldn't start blubbering again. 'She'd say I raised a strong, independent girl who always does the right thing, no matter how hard it might be or unpopular it might make you.'

'Exactly, and part of being strong is knowing when you need to take a step back.' Lanie covered Beckett's hand. 'I went from processing a scene to my lunch break into a maternity suite. I realized last time with Carey I cut it way too close, what if he'd been early like Dell, so this time I'm starting my maternity leave so I have time get my house in order before this baby arrives. It's not even close to what I want but I can't be selfish like that. I've got another little person coming into the world who needs me to think of him or her first.'

'You're saying I'm selfish.'

'No. I'm saying you need to relax and not be so stubborn.' Lanie shifted again in the vain hopes it would move the baby off her bladder. 'After my parents split up and my mother and sister left the country, I was in family counseling and the thing I remember my counselor telling me the most was that asking for help when help is legitimately needed doesn't make us weak, it makes us smart. You are a smart girl, Kate, and you'll make a hell of a mother. So you need to remind yourself that it's not just you that you're doing this for.'

Beckett hadn't thought of it quite like that and it made her feel even more ashamed than when she'd suddenly fountained like a geyser in front of the guys. 'Thank you, Lanie.'

'For what?'

'For kicking my ass when I want you to hold my hand.'

'We're sisters, it's what we do. Now, I can't stay, I've been having some Braxton-Hicks of my own during my shift, so I'm going home to my boys. My dad's in town and taking care of my son while I'm on night shift and I know both of them want to see me. The files I promised are downstairs with the two-headed monster and Castle.'

'Thanks again Lanie.'

The not-so-tiny ME shoved herself off the bed and waddled out, nearly running over Castle in the process. 'Hey, how you feeling?'

'Richard, I'm so sorry I've made you worry and stress about me and the baby at work. I...I've been selfish and inconsiderate and I promise the first thing on Monday morning I'm doing is going into Montgomery's office and rearranging my schedule so I'm in the office more.'

'Okay. Whatever you need, Kate, I'm here.'

Castle leaned in for a kiss and started to slide his hands under his wife's top when he heard the discreet 'cough-cough' from Esposito by the doorway.

'You know, some people would actually cough instead of just saying it, Detective.'

'I'm unique and special.'

Beckett looked over Castle's shoulder to see the hunky Puerto-Rican and the handsome Irishman standing in her bedroom doorway with thick dossiers and files in their hands. 'What's all this?'

'Mohammad and mountains, Detective. Just because you need to lie down doesn't mean your brain's stopped working.'

Esposito picked a corner of the king-sized bed, arranged the files there while Ryan sat beside him, pulling stacks of photographs out of his manila envelopes. 'So, do you want to start with Lanie's reports or recap what we learned last night?'

'I also got a call from the judge, the minute the banks and phone companies open today, our warrants will be pushed through so we'll have financial and phone-data by noon at the latest. I'm going to get hard copies from the office and bring 'em back here.' Ryan tapped a note into his phone, then tossed it on the bed. 'ME findings or details from last night's scene?'

'Lanie's findings first.' Beckett gave them each a small smile. She knew exactly what they were up to and couldn't have been more grateful. 'What have we gotten from there?'

'We still don't have an ID on the fourth arm and the CSUs are still running prints through Missing Persons. Lanie ran a tox screen and all four came up with quite the combat cocktail in their bloodstreams. Benzodiazepine, ketamine and naproxen, and they were pure. Pharmacy grade, not the street-level chemi-heads who deal chill-pills.'

'Meredeth takes naproxen for her back, it's why she had a spinal block when Tessi was born instead of an epidural,' Esposito explained. 'It's a non-steroidal anti-inflamatory. You combine that with an anesthetic like ketamine and anti-anxiety meds like benzos, you couldn't swat away a ball of string.'

Still lying down, Beckett picked up Lanie's file and read the medical examiner's short-hand. 'So whoever did this to these girls wanted them sedated so they wouldn't put up a fight. Did Lanie have any way of determining a time of death?'

Ryan shook his head. 'Seeing as they were limbs without vital organs, all she could pull was that they were severed post-mortem.'

'Okay. We've got a lot of threads to pull here, where you wanna start?' Esposito asked.

'The financial records and the phone records, and find out what those numbers are from CSU. I'd love to go with you but I'm needed here.' Beckett rubbed her hand over her belly. 'I have other priorities today.'

'For sure, we'll call you the minute we get something.'

'Yeah, take care of Ricky Junior in there.' Ryan patted her knee with a friendly smile. 'We want a safe and healthy baby from you too.'

* * *

By the time Ryan made it home that night, he was thoroughly beat but he was still surprisingly alert. Maybe it was the fact that he was looking out for his boss even more now that she was starting to fully appreciate the fact that being a pregnant cop would put limitations on her body or maybe it was the adrenaline-kick of being a disappointment to his friend that had him so peppy after a hard day.

He unlocked the door and grinned widely, his anxiety staying in the hallway when he saw the sight before him: Dell and Honey-Milk were sitting at the kitchen table drawing and colouring. Their blonde heads were bent close together as they chatted with each other and the fact there would be another one to join them in about four months time was both scary and exhilarating.

'What are you two up to?' he asked with a laugh in his voice and love for them swelled in his chest when they lifted their heads, delight shining in their eyes.

'Daddy! You are home!' Dell popped out of his chair to race over and hug his father. 'You get any bad guys today?'

'No, today we were working on the puzzle pieces to find the bad guys.'

'That is good, you gotta 'member all the suh-teps so they don' get away.'

'Exactly.' Ryan kissed his son's cheek. 'How are you and Mama doing?'

'Very good, we are havin' art cuh-lass and I made something for the baby.'

Dell raced back over to the kitchen table, picked up the piece of paper he'd been working on to show it off for his father's inspection. 'You like it?'

Ryan grinned - his son had drawn a picture of a group of stick figures with colourful clothes and different shades of hair inside a group of dinosaurs. 'It's beautiful, Dell, who is everyone?'

'That is me and Tessi and Mommy and the baby and we are being puh-ro-tect-ed by our dinosaurs. They are the moon sy-suh-tem.'

'Moon system?' Ryan repeated.

'Meredeth said we all have one so we don't get sick.'

'It's called an _immune_ system, baby,' Honey-Milk laughed, standing up to give her husband a kiss. 'How did everything go at Beckett and Castle's this morning?'

'A little tougher than we thought. She's having a hard time right now, trying to be a super-cop and super-mom all at the same time. But Lanie gave her a talkin-to when she stopped to drop off a file on her way home and I think she's coming around. But Javi and I are trying to think of something really sweet that we can do that's work-related for her to make her feel less...flaky, I guess you'd say.'

'Flaky?'

'Yeah. Something to make her feel like taking care of herself because she's pregnant doesn't make her any less of a cop.'

'Oh.' Honey-Milk paused, pursed her lips. 'You know, I think I might have just the thing for that.'

'Really?'

'Uh-huh. We'll get Dell to tidy up his art supplies here and I'll tell you while we make dinner.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	22. Baby Boards: 21 Weeks

On Monday morning, Honey-Milk was on-call and planned to spend the morning with her son and when he had his afternoon nap she would scour the real-estate websites in search of a new apartment. They'd known from the moment the EPT stick had confirmed she was pregnant that they would need a bigger place but they'd wanted to wait until they'd found a new place before they even mentioned it to Dell or anyone else. They wanted something halfway between Saint Vincent's and the precinct and since Dell would be starting kindergarten the following September they also wanted to be in a good neighbourhood for a school where they could walk him there.

Kindergarten, she thought, sipping her tea and watching him draw at the kitchen table. Where had the last four years gone? Four years ago at this time, she and Ryan had just finished their third month of living together. Then her mother had become ill and everything changed, much of it for the better. In the six months after that, she'd gotten married and gotten pregnant, even if not-on-purpose. She wouldn't trade that history with the loves of her life for anything, and what a story it would make to tell both her children once they were old enough.

'Mama, may I have some tea, puh-lease?'

'Of course, baby.'

She poured him an espresso-cup of tea that was half milk and just a drop of Splenda in it to sweeten it, watched fascinated as her fastidious little man blew on it and sipped using both hands to hold the porcelain.

'Mama, guess what.'

'What?'

'It is my birth-day on Wednesday. July the seventeen.'

'That's right.'

'Was I a big baby like Tessi?'

'No, you were very little.' Honey-Milk held out her hand. 'Your whole foot was this big,' she told him, measure her index finger from the middle knuckle to the tip. 'But you had the biggest blue eyes in the world.'

'Even bigger than Tessi?'

'If you can believe it. You really like her don't you?'

'I'm gonna marry her.'

Ah, young love, Honey-Milk thought with a smile. More than likely, Tessi and Dell would grow up like brother and sister and be in each others pockets like they all were now. She shifted as the baby inside her turned around and pillow itself against her spleen. 'Hey, Dell?'

'Yes Mama.'

'I have an idea. You know the big blue box when I keep my paper for making cards?'

'Yes, Mama.'

'Can you bring that to me?'

Dell nodded and boosted himself out of the chair, returned a few minutes later shoving the large box towards the kitchen table. 'What now, Mama?'

'There's a small box with flowers on it inside that has a bunch of blank flash cards on it, I need you to put it on the table, along with my box if skinny markers.'

'There are two boxes of suh-kinny markers, Mama. Buh-right and baby colours.'

'The bright ones.'

Once again he followed the instructions and put the boxes on the table in front of her, then pulled up his chair beside her. 'What we doin'?'

'We're going to start playing the name game, baby. We need to think of the best names in the world for the baby.'

'How we gonna name it? We don' know if it's a boy or girl.'

'Well that's why we need to make a list. Here. Be careful because this marker doesn't come off your skin very easily.' She passed him a green marker - his favourite colour - and a small stack of cards. 'We need to think of a girl name and a boy name for every letter of the alphabet.'

'Okay.' Dell hovered his marker over his card and waited for his mother to dictate the letters to him. He was getting better at spelling but names always tripped him up because there were so many variations. 'But we can't use Tessi or Tessiana for the letter T. There is only one Tessi in the whole wide world.'

'Agreed, just like there's only one Dell Ryan in the whole wide world.'

'And one Baby Ryan.' Dell paused. 'Mama?'

'Yes honey.'

'I hope it is a girl, then she can be friends with Tessi.'

'What if it's a boy?'

'He can be friends with Tessi, but I am her Dell. Big diff-er-ence,' he said in his serious tone that Honey-Milk knew came from his father. 'I wanna si-suh-ter.'

'And if you can't use the name Tessi, Rosie or Kelley for a girl, what would you use?'

'Mallory. Mallory Grace.'

'Mallory Grace Ryan.' Honey-Milk smiled, wrote the two names down on separate cards. 'That is a good one too.'

'Or Cera, like in _Land Before Time_.'

'Dell, my precious little man, we're not naming the baby after a dinosaur.'

* * *

'Okay, I gotta run, I'll be home for dinner on-time tonight.'

'Ma-my zoh-nee.'

'Mami made lasagne, Tessi?'

'Yes I did, hot and fresh and waiting for you.'

'I love you Mere, but what about the food?'

'Funny guy. Love you Javi.'

'Love Da-dy.'

'Love you too.'

Esposito smiled as he hung up his phone, and deciding it was time for fresh coffee, got up to make an espresso. He was going past a conference room when he stopped, blinked at what he saw through the window. Deciding coffee could wait, he detoured back to his partner's desk, where he had his feet up as he was on hold with TSA for a different case's warrant that had finally gone through.

'Dude, you gotta see this.'

'One sec.' Ryan adjusted the receiver of his desk phone and spoke in his clear, competent cop's voice. 'Thank you sir, it's K-E-V-T-R-Y-A-N at N-Y-P-D dot N-Y-C dot C-O-M. Flight records are being sent for the Coffin-Russell case.'

'Fantastic,' Esposito said when his partner hung up. 'Come with me.'

'What, did Meredeth make us lunch or something?'

'Even better.'

'Better than Meredeth lunch? That's pushing it, bro.'

'Look in there.'

Ryan glanced through the conference room where he saw Beckett in a chair while Castle was writing on what appeared to be a murder board. Only instead of there being photos of dead bodies, there were sonograms and the heading 'Name Game' with various colour-coded lists.

'Dude, telling this isn't a dream.'

'If it were, I wouldn't do this.' Esposito socked Ryan lightly in the shoulder, then grinned. 'Let's go find out what they are up to.'

'Coffee first and tea for Beckett.'

'Yeah, better to have a prop.'

They made the hot drinks - even in the dead heat of July, cops always ran on heated beverages - with Esposito opting to bring their pregnant boss her tea since he'd been the one to discover her little project. He gave her a wide, slightly scared smile as he walked in ahead of his partner.

'Hey boss. Thought you might like to have this.'

'Oh thanks.'

'Got one for you too, Castle.' Ryann went to offer his friend the latte but Beckett held up her marker in a hold-that-thought gesture.

'What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the name Chrissy Castle?'

'Bubble-gum popstar,' Esposito replied.

'Stripper stage name,' Ryan added and knew this was the answer Beckett was looking for when she turned back to Castle with a smug smile.

'See, even the most grounded man with the least wandering I know of thinks it sounds like a stripper name.'

'Hey!' the Ry-Sposito monster chorused, though for different reasons.

'Okay, so that means Christine, Christina, Charisma, Christopher, Christoph and Christian are all out.' Castle drew an large red X through a short column of names. 'I still like my original idea.'

'Richard, for the last time we are not naming a little girl baby Margie. I don't care if it's one of your favourite movies or not.'

'As in Marge Gunderson from _Fargo_?' Esposito folded his arms over his chest. 'She was a lovely kick-ass lady, Kate, you could do a lot worse than that as a namesake. Or you could opt for the actress' name, since it goes either way.'

'What's the actress' name?'

'Frances McDormand.'

'No.' Now it was Castle's turn to refute. 'I'm sorry but I'm not naming my son Francis Castle.'

'Not a boy, a little girl.' Beckett paused, then using her feet, wheeled herself over to the board and wrote on it. All this talk of the Coen Brothers home-spun murder story had given her an idea and was curious to see what her husband the professional writer and her friends, one of whom was married to a professional writer as well, would think.

Esposito studied what she'd written. 'Frances Fargo Castle. That's actually pretty hip. You got Frannie if she's a little girl, Frances when she's older and a funky middle name. It works.'

'Yeah, what he said,' Ryan chipped in.

'Richard?' Beckett offered him a winning smile. 'Your thoughts?'

'It's perfect, and most likely won't get her teased at school. Good job, Mom.'

'Thanks Dad. Now, what if it's a boy?'

'Then you will have possibly been growing another version of me inside you and that would explain _so_ much of your preggo behaviour,' Castle said without turning a hair. 'And we're not using your dad's name because we agreed no 'J' names.'

'So we're back to square one.'

'And we should keep going on our investigation.' Esposito elbowed Ryan lightly in the ribs. 'Oh, if you're up for it, Meredeth made lasagne for dinner and she always makes way too much so if you're not in the mood to cook, you can come by for a bite.'

'Sounds delicious. I'll give her a shout later.'

'Lasagne, huh? Guess I could twist Jenny into eating some,' Ryan said. 'Is there any four-cheese or spinach for me?'

'She always makes sure there's something for the veggie-tyrants.'

Ryan's cell rang then, in Honey-Milk's custom tone and he picked up. 'Hey, how's my girl doing?'

'I'm not a girl Daddy,' Dell said with amused indignation. 'I am your little bro?'

'Yes you are and why are you on Mama's cell-phone?'

'We are going to the cuh-raft store around the corner. We gettin' more art supplies and Mama said I can call to ask you some-thing.'

'Lay it on me.' Ryan could only imagine what his boy thought was important enough to call

'Mama said she likes the name I pick out for the baby if it's a girl.'

'What name did you pick out?'

'Mallory Grace.'

He picked up his coffee, studied his computer screen. 'That's great, little bro. Put Mama on, let me talk to her for a moment.'

There was the sound of shuffling as Honey-Milk took back her cellphone. 'Hi, honey, how's work going?'

'Fantastic and we're going to Mere and Javi's for dinner, she made lasagne for us and Kate and Rick. Does Dell really want to call the baby Mallory Grace?'

'He really does. In his mind it's the best name after Tessi's.'

'Alright, we'll keep it in the mix then. I gotta run, my files just came through from TSA. Love you.'

'Love you too, we'll see you later.'

'I'll meet you at Mere and Javi's, okay?'

'Okay...okay, yes Dell, he says love you too Daddy.'

Ryan hung up and scanned the file he'd received. 'Gotcha you bastard. Hey Espo!'

'Yo!'

'How you feel about a little upper-crust shake down?'

'My favourite way to spend a Monday afternoon. Why, what you got?'

Ryan grabbed his suit jacket off the back of his chair. 'You drive, I'll talk.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	23. Whatever It Takes

'Quite the birthday party we put on, wasn't it?'

'Dell is a very loved little boy. I'm glad his birthday fell before the baby's due date.'

'Think he'll get any sleep tonight?'

'Oh I think so.'

Honey-Milk brushed her hair as she sat on her side of the bed, dressed in her comfie summer pjs. The birthday party had been a rousing success for Dell - his pint-sized pals had all been there and of course glued to his side was Tessi Esposito; it seemed the adoration he heaped on the tiny Latina girl was mutual and she'd wanted to spend the entire afternoon with him as much as he wanted her there.

The grown-ups had had their fun too, with the girls laying into Beckett with playful teasing on her decision over the name if the girl was a baby but Beckett being Beckett just gave them all a toothy grin and reminded them all of the phases they'd gone through when trying to decide on their own baby names. Honey-Milk had to wonder if she was really going to stick with that name or not, and found herself praying for the Castle-Beckett baby to be a boy.

'You think he'll drag that book with him everywhere now?' she asked Ryan, in reference to the giant-print book of dinosaurs Tessi had given him; it was the last thing he'd opened and nearly ignored all the other toys he'd received in order to read the book to Tessi and the others. She felt the mommy in her go away for a moment when she saw the smooth flesh of her husband's back bathed in the street light coming in the window as he undressed for bed.

'Hell yeah, the kid loves dinosaurs and Tessiana Esposito. What?'

'Nothing.'

Ryan, now in just his skin, crawled in beside his wife, gave her a tantalizing kiss. 'Come on, you're laughing at me about something, we've been together long enough for me to know that. Spill.'

'I was just thinking about how you told me there's a whole subculture in the Nikki-Heat fan-fiction world that believes Raley and Ochoa are secret lovers, and if our son gets together with Esposito's daughter there may be some truth to that, just not the right Raley and Ochoa.'

'You are twisted, Jennifer Agatha Ryan, you know that?'

'Well, call me crazy but isn't all that twistiness of mine how we got here?' Honey-Milk winked, pointed at her bulbous tummy.

'And now she's a saucy one.'

Ryan leaned in for another kiss, tugged at his wife's tank-top. 'Wonder what else you're in the mood for?'

'For a pregnant woman, it's the three S's - sex, sleep and snacks.'

'Well, we already had Mere's delicious birthday cake today, so that's the snacks. Let's see about those other two.'

Ryan moved to pull his wife as close to him as he could, her lips sweet and lush. She tasted like a dream, his dream, so deliciously ripe. His little Irish peach, he thought, angling his body to get even closer. His mouth ran down from her neck to the curve of her shoulder and back up, then leaned back to pull at her clothes. The shirt went first, flying over the end of the bed, quickly followed by her shorts and panties so she was naked with him. He wanted to feel everything with her.

With a careful move, he rolled her so that his beautiful bride was looking up at him, dark eyes shining in the light coming in from the street-lamp. Ryan wanted to desperately to sink into her but knew that his body pressing hard against hers was bad for their baby, so instead he rested on his knees between her legs and continued to move his hands all over her body, following the patterns he created with his mouth, planting kisses on her ever-growing bump and laughing a little when he felt the baby move around inside her. His hand paused by her breast and he stroked the soft flesh with the pad of his thumb, which made Honey-Milk place her hand over his.

'It's okay, Kev, they're better now.'

'You sure?'

Honey-Milk nodded, then silently took his hand and guided his fingers over the heated peak, arching her neck as she let out a little 'mmm' of delight. He was so good to her, and despite her overcharged hormones making her go-switch stay locked in the on-position, she really did want to make love with him tonight. Watching how her tough cop who chased down notorious criminals in the city was also the same man who tucked their son in at night made her want him all the more. When his other hand shifted to cover her other breast, she breathed deeply so they filled his palms; she bit her lip to keep from saying his name too loudly and waking Dell up. Then she lost the ability to think at all when he lowered his mouth to her breast and began to suckle.

Ryan loved it when she made those noises in her throat as he feasted on her; that he could make her lose her mind like that made him feel like a god. He felt the slick wet against his body and decided to drive her even crazier, so he slipped down her body, leaving open-mouthed kisses as he did until he reached the tantalizing vee of her thighs and lapped at her.

'God!' Honey-Milk choked out the oath as the breath exploded out of her lungs. She'd always been a fan of this move with him, but never so much as when she was pregnant. Her head rolled one way then the other as he laved at her, then she cried out when she felt those slim, clever fingers part her heated lips so his tongue drove inside her. 'Oh...oh, my god.'

She clutched at the rails on the headboard, crying out demands for more loud and clear to him until the orgasm burst through her in a blinding hot light of need and desire for him. Then he was moving back up her body again and positioning himself behind her.

'Kev, what are you-'

'It's easier for you like this,' he murmured, kissing the tip of her nose as he slid inside her. Thought it wasn't nearly as deep inside his wife as he wanted to be, Ryan knew this was the most comfortable for her for her back and her abdomen. With a little adjusting and manoeuvring, he eased in, his hand steady on her hip as she sighed and trembled for him, saying his name with each stroke he gave her until there was only her in the world, and then the beautiful supernova of orgasmic release inside her.

Honey-Milk groaned in deep satisfaction, took the hand that rested on her hip and brought its knuckles to her lips. 'I love you so much Kevin, I didn't even realize I wanted that so much.'

'I love you too, and I'm your man. I'm supposed to notice these things.' Ryan stroked his hand over her belly, where the baby was doing sommersaults in his or her mother's uterus. 'Yeah, baby, you will learn why Daddy's keeping Mommy up so late on your wedding night.'

'Oh, please, you were fifteen when you lost it,' Honey-Milk scoffed sweetly.

'Shh, I don't want him or her hearing that!' Ryan mimed putting his hands over the baby's ears and kissed his wife one more time. 'So that's two out of three, what do you say we make it a hat-trick?'

'You read my mind.'

Honey-Milk snuggled as close to him as she could before she was out like a light.

* * *

A couple of neighbourhoods away from the Ryan apartment, down in SoHo, Beckett was lying on the couch on her side with a monster bowl of popcorn, a Reed's spiced-apple ginger-beer, and Castle by her feet as they watched one of her favourite episodes of _Dallas Lieutenant Eve_, the highly controversial season three premiere that had a terrorist group running around a futuristic New York City and blowing up its landmarks.

'I can't believe the production company got permission to do this on location in the city.'

'Well, Honey-Milk and I asked about it last September when we got to do that set-tour, and one of the set decorators said they did a private screening for everyone who lost people in the nine-eleven attacks and they donated a percentage of their salaries from that four-episode arc to a survivor's fund.'

'That's amazing.' Becket pursed her lips. 'Rich?'

'Yeah?'

'I could use a foot-rub.'

Castle glanced over. 'They feeling puffy?'

Yeah.'

He lifted her legs so her feet rested in his lap and began to massage the build-up of fluid there. 'That feel better?'

'Hell, yes. Almost better than sex. Almost.'

'That was a very nice gift you gave Dell for his birthday,' Castle commented, moving up her calf which was just as swollen with water-retention. 'I had no idea you were such a softie.'

'Well, he's attached to that t-rex and I figure he won't want to lose the original one if he takes it with him when he starts school, you know?'

'Maybe we should change your badge to read Detective Marshmellow.'

'Watch it buster. Take a look where my feet are. Do you really want this one to be our only child together?'

Castle glanced down and thinking better of it, stood up. 'This would go much easier in the bedroom.'

'But I'm comfy,' Beckett pouted. 'My snacks are here and so is the TiVo.'

'Glad to see you're taking that 'more rest' conversation we had to heart, honey.'

'Well the more I thought about it, the more I realized hey, I'm growing a human being inside me, why shouldn't I get to indulge a little.'

'I know you're used to trimming your life of fat, as it were, but sometimes in a good steak the fat adds the best flavour.'

'Oh man.' Beckett wrinkled her nose, felt her stomach gurgle. The last thing her behind needed was more food, not after the way she'd scarfed down three jerk-chicken sandwiches at Dell's birthday party along with a monster slice of cake. Meredeth had volunteered to do the food, cake and all, since Honey-Milk's energy was starting to flag a little from the baby being much bigger than Dell had at the same benchmark, and they'd traded stories of random cravings while they'd chowed down. She'd thought she'd eaten enough to hold her into next week. Junior, however, had different ideas. 'Now I want a burger.'

'Let me guess, the turkey-beef double slider from Remy's, honey-mustard, lettuce, Swiss cheese and extra onions.'

'Close. Swiss cheese is fermented and that's not good for the baby.' Beckett offered her husband an eyelashing batting smile. It was so much fun to get him turning to goo when she used that phrase. 'One all turkey with honey-mustard, pepper-jack, lettuce and extra onions and one all beef with cheddar, ketchup, mustard, mayo.'

'Fries?'

'Salad. Lots of cucumber and green peppers, and bleu-cheese dressing. Oh and one of those extra-large strawberry-banana shakes they make.'

'You got it.' Castle leaned over, gave her a kiss. 'I'll be back in a bit.'

'Where are you going?'

'To get your burgers and salad and shakes.'

'Oh, in that case can you also get me a couple bottles of that Italian soda, the blood orange one? I'm all out.'

'Of course my dear. I'll be back in about forty minutes, okay?'

'Love you.'

'Love you too.'

Castle left and a few minutes later, Alexis wandered downstairs, sending a text before she parked herself in the spot her father had recently vacated. 'Did I hear my dad leave?'

'Yeah, I told him I wanted a burger so he's gone to Remy's.'

'Lucky. What are we watching?'

'Season three premier of _Dallas, Lieutenant Eve_, I missed it. I was working an overnight.'

'Oh, I've seen it already, so I am going to make a soft mixed drink. You want one?'

'Sure. Cran-apple with ginger-ale, please.'

'Whatever your pregnant heart desires, Mom.'

Beckett smiled as she watched the redhead, back to her bouncy self, pull jugs of fruit juice from the fridge. She could definitely get used to this pampering thing.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	24. Working Mom's Morning

'Victim is Desiree Berk, twenty-three of two-six-two Avenue D.' It was barely nine in the morning and Sidney Perlmutter was already sweating; he dabbed at his forehead with a sterile handkerchief while giving Ryan and Esposito the bullet. 'Her purse was there and she had a cellphone and wallet with no cash, a couple tubes of lipstick and one of those fancy pill cases that look like a compact in your purse.'

'Well this is a popular spot in the park for doing business of the pharmaceutical variety which might explain the lack of cash in the wallet,' Ryan commented, thankful to have his new sunglasses from Father's Day. The heat was huge and the glare both off the water of the Jackie Onassis Reservoir and Perlmutter's forehead were wretched. 'Question is why would a girl from Alphabet City go so far north to score her fix? Has to be a dozen or more places in her hood where she could get what she needed.'

'Maybe not.' Perlmutter lifted her hand with his gloved fingers. 'See those ridge lines and the purple crescent moons on her nail bed? That's from serious prescription medication withdrawal. My guess is she was after Vicodin or Oxycontin, the real stuff not the street-lab stuff, but I'll know more once I get her labs and PM done.'

'That's it? No quippy remarks or sneers? You're slipping, Sid,' Esposito teased the grouchy medical examiner and to his perverse delight, Perlmutter rolled his eyes and curled his lip in a sneer.

'Do you really wanna screw with the guy handling your DB's?'

'No sir.'

As Perlmutter escorted the freshly-bagged body, Esposito's gaze caught a familiar Crown Vic parking on the other side of the tape. They watched as Beckett got out of the passenger side and, God save them, marched belly-first towards the crime scene.

'Gentlemen, good morning. How can I help?'

'I'm sorry, you must be mistaken, you see we're waiting for Detective Katherine Louise Beckett, also known as Kate, Katie, Katie-Lou or in extreme cases, Missus Richard Castle. You are clearly a pod-person sent to infiltrate a government facility.'

'Guys, come on, you know I'm batting clean-up now that I'm over five months. I'll be on the desk only in six weeks, so I'm making the most of my field time now. Who called in the body?'

'Haven't gotten that far yet, but he's over there with the uniform, Rafferty.' Esposito gestured to where one of the beat-cops was talking to a short man in athletic gear whose hair was long and glossy as Beckett's.

She walked over, badge in hand and Castle on her heels. 'Thanks Rafferty, sir I'm Detective Kate Beckett, you are the one who found the body and called the police?'

'Yes. Fletcher Nicks. I found her under that tree where the medical examiner was.'

'Why don't you walk me through what happened?'

'I was doing my usual morning run and I like to take my breaks by the Reservoir. I'm originally from Long Island and I'm used to the water, you know? Anyways, I was doing some stretches and bent over to do my hammies when I saw the woman's hand peaking around the side of that big oak there.'

'How could you tell she was dead?'

'I'm a lifeguard part time over at the Y near Saint Bart's on Fifty-Fourth and the first thing we learned was how to tell the difference between someone sleeping, unconscious or dead and that lady had the signs of dead.'

'Did you touch her or move her in anyway?' Castle asked, 'maybe do some CPR or first-aid with your life-guard training?'

'Nope.' Fletcher shook his head. 'I'm studying pharmacology at NYU and I'm interning for Manhattan North CSU. I know better than to touch if I think someone's dead. Better to let the pros handle it so I don't go mucking things up.'

'That's a good policy, Mister Nicks. What about the area around the body, had it been disturbed at all?'

'Again, nope. Looks like the girl had just DFO'd, you know?'

'Done fell over,' Castle replied.

'Anyways, I had my cell on me and called 9-1-1, then waited to keep any lookie-lous out of the way, though this early in this weather the only people you'd find are the party-people doing walks of shame or guys like me who want to squeeze in a run before the heat gets to be too much, you know?'

'I do. Thank you, again, you've been very helpful.' Beckett passed him one of her cards. 'Anything else springs to mind, you let me know, okay?'

'Sure thing.'

They turned around to walk back to the initial crime-scene; the moment they did, she swore under her breath.

'Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit, this isn't good at all.' She walked as fast as she could to where Esposito was helping two uniforms wrestle a burly brick-wall of a man who was hollering at the top of his lungs to the ground; Ryan was there with his weapon drawn in case things went south.

'Is that her? Is that Desiree you took out of here?'

'Sir, I'm Detective Beckett, you need to calm down,' Beckett started, then just barely leaped back in time when one of the man's meaty fists swung out wildly and clocked one of the uniforms square in the face. 'Sir! Stand down or my detectives will resort to aggressive measure.'

Behind him, an even thicker-set man sneered at her from a face that resembled a melting jack-o-lantern. 'What you gonna do about it, fat white bitch?'

'Hey!' Castle growled it, and stepped forward, pointing his finger at the man's chest. 'That woman is a police detective herself and an excellent shot so I'd be watching my mouth with her if I was you.'

'Oh, what's the matter sweetheart, you need your baby-daddy here to save your sugar tits.'

'Right that's it.'

Castle took a step forward but Esposito beat him to it, somehow managing to get his cuffs around the man's meaty wrists, reading him his rights for verbally assaulting an officer while Ryan finished helping the others subduing the man who was yelling for Desiree.

'Take them both in,' he instructed, then turned to Castle and Beckett. 'You okay?'

'Yeah, I'm fine.'

'Castle?'

'Give me a minute,' he said in an steel-edged voice.

They let him have a breathing moment and when Esposito came back from loading the men into the pandas for transportation to the precinct, he gave them the run-down. 'Guy's name is Brent Berk, he's the victim's cousin, him and his body-guard there were supposed to meet Desiree this morning in the same grove we found her in but they were late and by the time they got here, we'd already shown up on scene.'

'See what else you can get on them at the precinct, meanwhile, I'll start chasing down Desiree Berk's next of kin, financials, the works.'

'You got it.'

Castle didn't speak again until they were in the car on the way to the Twelfth. All he could think of was the look on his wife's face when she'd dodged out of the way just in time for Brent's hand to miss connecting with her. A near-miss like that was terrifying enough for him when she was her usual self. Now that she was pregnant, everything on a crime scene felt like heightened security alerts at an airport.

'It could have been you and not Jamal who got slugged,' he murmured, navigating the south-bound traffic to the precinct.

'I know.'

'What would you have done if he'd clocked you, and you'd fallen, like Lanie did?'

Beckett pursed her lips, reached over to take his hand. It didn't matter a whit to her that she was on the clock and treating him like this. He was her husband and he was worried for the health and safety of their baby. 'I would have gone straight to the hospital and make them do every damn test to make sure I was alright and the baby was alright too.'

'Good.'

'I love you, Richard, and I love this baby. I know it may appear to be a little difficult to believe that, but ever since I heard that heartbeat back at the end of March, I...I can't imagine not loving a baby I made with you. On Valentine's Day no less.'

'I love you too Kate and I know you want nothing more than to be a good mother, so let me be the big caveman protecting father-to-be and worry about you, okay?'

'Deal.'

* * *

Once at the precinct, Beckett wheeled her spiffy new ergonomically-correct office chair into Observation to watch Esposito take a couple metaphorical swings at Brent's buddy, one Sam Shasaholi, who copped to making a foolish remark in the heat of the moment. Since he seemed genuinely remorseful about what he'd said, Beckett opted not to follow through on the charges he'd been brought in on. Once they had confirmed through Sam that Brent was Desiree's only next of kin, they shifted into the murder investigation line of questioning.

_I kept trying to tell Brent that Desiree was into some bad stuff._

_What kind of stuff?_

_I don't know, she wouldn't ever say. But I knew she was going to be at the park that night, trying to score some kind of trouble. She comes up to this part of town when her supply runs low._

_What supply?_

_Diazepam. Desiree, see, she's a dancer and she gets really bad anxiety attacks from time to time before a major performance. Half of one of those little pills_

'Oh yeah, I remember Espo telling me about those little darlings when he went through sniper training. Said his supervisor told them all to get the prescription written up, they definitely know how to take the edge off,' Beckett told Castle.

'And would withdrawal from a pill addiction like that be strong enough to cause the purple moons and ridges on her fingernails?' he replied, thinking of Perlmutter's report he'd heard from Ryan and Esposito.

'Possible.'

_So why not get them from the doctor?_

_Desiree didn't have any benefits. She'd quit her day job when she got hired on full-time by the dance company but since she was still on employment probation with them, she wasn't going to get any benefits until at least September. She started in March and they were doing enough shows a week that she would take those things two a day._

'That's a strong dose and if she was a dancer, between her metabolism and her weight-'

'Or lack thereof.'

'Or lack thereof,' Beckett agreed, 'she was most definitely in the fast lane to addiction.'

_How do you know all this?_

_Because I'd be there with her when she was going to make her buys in the park so Brent wouldn't have to see it. He knew what she was doing but couldn't stand to watch her do it, you know? So I'd go with her in case her dealer tried anything funny._

_Is that where you were last night between eleven and two?_

_No. I was at work, I bounce at The Gypsy Rose Lee on Madison and East Thirty-Second. I had to roust a couple guys getting fresh with the girls on stage so I'm on the security cams by the front door making sure they left in one piece._

_Alright, we'll check it out. Oh and one last thing, you know the name of her dealer?_

_All I know is she called him the Wizard, 'cause he looked kinda like that skinny kid who plays Harry Potter._

Beckett watched Esposito come out of the interrogation room, shaking his head. 'Guy's a wreck, but it don't mean he isn't lying.'

'Run down his alibi and pull some photos, see if our Boy Who Lived drug-dealer has any pings. In the meantime I'll find out how a twenty-three year old dancer who has limited income pays for a drug habit like that.'

She stood up to shove her chair back to her desk, and grinned when she felt the baby give a happy little tap-dance kick.

'The game's afoot, baby.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	25. Surprise, Surprise: 24 Weeks

'Dude, she is going to love this.'

'You think so?'

'Yeah.' Esposito glanced over at the elevator, saw the numbered panel above it was blinking from 3 to 4. 'Oh, she's coming, she's coming!'

Ryan had to laugh and briefly wondered if this was what Javier Esposito had been like when he'd been Dell's age. Following his partner's lead, they sat in front of Beckett's desk, therefore blocking her view from the elevator. A few minutes later, they grinned like schoolboys when Beckett, nearly six months pregnant now, strolled off the elevator with Castle carrying her work bag behind her. They'd done the same thing when Lanie was pregnant the first time, when she'd been coming to the precinct for updates on the choke-and-stab cases; they were missing her already after just three weeks of maternity leave.

'I just don't understand why you couldn't let me carry my bag, my arms aren't broken.'

'Consider this part of that being-a-good-husband thing I promised you in our vows.'

'You know what else a good husband does? Lets his pregnant wife have the last cran-orange oatmeal muffin.'

'I said I was sorry and didn't I buy a whole half-dozen for you the next morning?' Castle glanced up and relief combined with wariness when he saw the two-headed monster by his wife's desk. 'Morning fellas. What's shakin'?'

'We put together a little something for you and the baby.' They stepped aside like the parting of the Red Sea to reveal the gift basket they'd put on her desk. 'These are all things our ladies went nuts for when they were at the almost-six months stage.'

When Beckett only stared, Ryan swallowed and decided to point out things they'd decided to include. 'Jenny loved these gel inserts for her shoes, they help take off the pressure of your calves and legs, and these are wick-away socks to help her feet breathe so they didn't sweat as badly.'

'And I found this.' Esposito picked up a navy blue onsie that read 'Rookie of the Year' in banana yellow on the chest. 'We all have onsies we got as pre-baby gifts, you need one too.'

'Dave suggested this for you too.' Ryan picked up the box with the iBump. 'You can play the baby everything from _Dallas Lieutenant Eve _to the Muppets to _Fantasia_ so you can bond with the baby while you're at work and if you're on scene, the baby will hear the good stuff instead of the criminals cussing and whatnot.'

'Plus Lanie and Meredeth both wanted in on this two and she got you a gift certificate for One Hot Mama Day Spa. And of course, Meredeth included some of those oatmeal cookies you like.'

They waited with baited breath as Beckett studied the basket of goodies and said in a low voice, 'I don't know what to say, this is so sweet of you.'

'We love you, Kate, you're our big sister and we've been waiting for the right time to spoil you rotten with baby things,' Ryan said with his easy charming smile.

'No way you're going to escape the Gift of the Partner-Si,' Esposito added.

Beckett nodded; her throat had clogged with happy tears; who knew that her two-headed monster was so willing to be in touch with their inner metrosexuals? Or maybe it was wearing their daddy-badges proudly beside their Homicide ones. Either way, she stepped over and gave them each a bone-crushing hug.

'Thank you,' she whispered in a watery tone that had both men on alert, then took the iBump box. 'Why don't I put this one in the ladies room, that way Castle won't punch one of you for pretending to cop a feel.'

Beckett turned to leave for the bathroom, then as an afterthought, turned back for the gel-sole inserts for her shoes. When she'd gone, Castle turned back and held out his fingertips for his boys to feed the birds.

'Nicely played, gentlemen. Meredeth and Jenny put you up to this?'

'Actually, we thought of it the morning after we caught the Four Arms case but we had to wait until the custom onsie came from Rochester.' Esposito looked past Castle's wide shoulder and saw Beckett coming back to her desk. 'How's it working, Beckett?'

'Fine, but while I was in there, I got a text from Dave. Lanie's water broke, she's on her way to the hospital.'

* * *

Beckett got to Saint Vincent's as quickly as she could. Since she was simply on desk duty, she worked her standard eight-to-six; constant texts between herself, Meredeth, Honey-Milk and Dave kept everyone in the loop, as Meredeth and Honey-Milk kept their men up to date as well. The minute she was able to, she clocked off and drove with Castle straight to the hospital.

They went into the maternity wing, into the room to find a very puffy Lanie hooked up to an IV of fluids, her long silky-black hair tied off her face in a long braid. At her side was Dave, his shaggy hair even longer and also pulled back off of his face as he helped her breathe through a contraction.

'There we are, there we are, that's my girl.'

'I don't remember Carey being this stubborn.'

'I think this one takes after you,' he teased her.

'If that's the case, mine will pop out making jokes like his daddy,' Beckett commented as she walked in the room.

Lanie's face, shining with sweat, split with an impatient smile. 'Hey girl, you're looking bigger too.'

'How are you feeling?'

'Tired, huge. Just want him or her to get her soon. I've been having contractions since lunch-time and they said that usually second babies are quicker. And yet this one is deciding not only to be nearly a week late but also taking his or her time in getting out.'

Beckett pursed her lips. This was not the usual sound of Lanie speaking about her pregnancy and her detective's instincts were humming. 'What's up, Lanie?'

'They might have to go in and take the baby out.'

'Like a C-section?'

Dave nodded. 'The baby's descent is too slow for the number of hours Lanie's been in active labour. They're giving us about another couple of hours and if things don't move along, then surgery is the best option.'

He turned back to see the fear of it in Lanie's eyes and kissed her hand. 'I won't let anything happen to you or my little honey-bee.'

Sensing it was time to take her leave, Beckett waved good-bye to her friend and joined the others in the lounge - Meredeth and Esposito, Ryan and Dell and her husband. 'Where are the other babies? Carey and Tessi?'

'At Lili and Cam's. Tessi was already having a play-date with her _prima_ Rosie and since Lanie and Dave live three blocks from their place, it was easiest to drop Carey off there so that they wouldn't have to worry about him,' Meredeth informed her, checking through her text messages. 'How is she doing?'

'Scared but putting on a brave face. They might have to do a C-section.'

'Oh god.' Meredeth reached for Esposito's hand. 'I hope not.'

'They're going to give her some drugs to speed up the process.'

'Daddy, what's a see-section?' Dell asked, looking up from his colouring book, concern in his eyes. 'Is that bad?'

The room looked around, trying to think of what to say to Dell, but Ryan knew the route to take with his son. He pulled him up from his book, sat him on the lounge couch between himself and Meredeth and Esposito. 'Remember what we talked about with moms sometimes needing an operation to get the baby out? Auntie Lanie might need that.'

'But the doc-tors give her medicine and she will be okay, right?'

'Of course, but it's still very scary.'

'I go tell her not-a-be suh-cared.'

Amused by the little boy's determination, Meredeth gently touched his head, then her husband's arm. 'She's got Dave in there with her right now, honey.'

'But-'

'Dell, I get it little bro.' Esposito leaned forward to speak man-to-man to his partner's son. 'But you know what being a man means sometimes? Letting the people who know best take care of our loved ones. Like when Tessi gets sick and you know to stay out of the way for Auntie Merry to look after her.'

'Or when Daddy says Mama needs a minute and I want to help but I listen to Daddy?'

'Exactly. Hey, why don't you show Auntie Merry some of your art you've been working on.'

The hours passed, slowly like they always did when waiting for a baby to arrive. They took turns sitting with the increasingly frustrated and scared Lanie when Dave needed a beverage or bathroom break, and played with Dell, checked in on their children with Lili and Cam.

'I should call Lex again,' Castle muttered, fishing his phone from his jacket. 'Let her know not to worry.'

'I, ah, don't think that's necessary.'

Beckett nodded towards the door where she saw Alexis with a couple of cloth grocery bags. 'Hi Lexie, whatcha got there?'

'Snacks. I made some wraps and sandwiches and scared up a couple bottles of lemonade. Dad texted me when you guys were on your way here.'

'You are a hero, Lex.' Meredeth smiled. 'I didn't even think of putting anything together today.'

'You're just pouting because you lost on the baby pool,' Esposito teased her. 'But so did I, so...' He trailed off when he saw the just-as-pregnant-as-Beckett Honey-Milk walked into the room in her scrubs. 'Hey, Jenny, what's the word?'

'The drugs we gave Lanie helped her and she's going down to delivery to try pushing. I'll let you know what I can when I can.'

'Thanks, honey, love you,' Ryan winked at her and Honey-Milk felt her hormones tap-dance a little.

'Love you too Kev.'

'Mama, I can help you,' Dell volunteered and Honey-Milk shook her head.

'I'm so sorry, baby, but I need you to stay here for right now, okay?'

Dell pouted but nodded. 'Okay. I be a man, right Javi?'

'That's right.'

'I'll ask later.' Honey-Milk left, leaving them to take care of their friend.

They waited some more; since there was no clock in the room and they'd all hidden their watches so they wouldn't be on the losing end of that staring contest, they had no idea how much time passed. So they traded stories about Ryan and Jenny, told Dell about the day he was born from all their perspectives. They ate the sandwiches, played cards, Lex even painted Meredeth and Beckett's nails for them while Dell curled up in a ball on the couch beside his dad and dozed.

And they waited some more.

'Daddy,' Dell asked on a yawn, 'did I take this long?'

'Almost.'

'How much longer do you think it'll be?' Meredeth asked, her head pillowed on Esposito's shoulder.

'No idea.' Castle said. He'd stayed quiet this time around, as it was so much different. In a few months time, it would be him with his wife in the delivery room, coaching her and supporting her while his friends, hell his family, waited with the same patience. 'I think I'm going to go for a walk.'

'As long as it's to the nursery.' Honey-Milk came back in as she heard the dulcet tones of the writer, Dave following her with the signs of joyous weeping on his face. 'Go ahead, Daddy.'

'It's a girl.'

The room erupted in cheers as they fell on Dave with hugs and kisses like villagers cheering the return of their war-hero. The studly Italian, now a father twice over, took one of the napkins Alexis offered him.

'Violet Melodie Parrish-Robbins, born at twelve-oh-four am on August sixth. She's a good size, too, seven pounds twelve.'

'What about Lanie, did she have the C-section?' Meredeth asked intensely and relief was collective in the room when he shook his head.

'The drugs they gave her did their magic thing and Violet came out the same way Carey did.' Dave grinned. 'Who wants to come and visit?'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	26. Visiting Hours

Because they needed to return home first in order for Beckett to rest, she Castle and Alexis were the first ones invited up. Like Tessi, Violet had spent a little bit of time in the nursery as a precaution and was on her way to see her mom when they got to go and visit. It never failed to fascinate her, Beckett thought, all the men she knew were these tough virile specimens of masculinity who had zero shame in being so open about their love for their wives and children. In her mind, that's what real men did; they weren't afraid to get their hearts a little dirty on their sleeves.

They all but tip-toed into Lanie's room and were a little surprised to see her awake and sitting up in her bed. She was glassy-eyed and pale but she was also deliriously happy, though Castle partly suspected that was the drugs. Every last woman he'd ever seen in the hospital because she was having a baby, with the exception of Evil Meredith and Honey-Milk on her first one, had that spaced-out look, though he couldn't blame them at all.

'Katie, I'm a mom again,' she whispered as Dave picked up the wrapped snoozing bundle of joy from her bassinet. Of course the baby was wrapped in a yellow blanket with navy blue number 12's all over it; Honey-Milk had struck again. 'Carey's got a little sister.'

'Congratulations, Lanie.' Beckett stepped closer to get a look at the latest addition. She was a little caramel-cutie, apple-cheeked like Lanie and Carey with Dave's angular nose and had little wispy tuffets of black hair curling out from under her little yellow baby-toque. Since her eyes were closed, she couldn't see what colour Violet's eyes were but had a feeling that they'd be sharp green like her father's. 'Oh, Lanie she's gorgeous.'

'Her eyes match, too,' Dave said proudly, thinking of his boy at home. 'When we told Carey Lanie was going to have the baby and he had to stay with Lili and Cam and Rosie, he asked if the baby's eyes were going to match or look like his.'

'And are they brown or green?'

'Green, but the muddy green like Carey's, not like Hob-Goblin green like mine.'

'Would you like to hold her, Kate?' Lanie held out her daughter to her friend and was pleased when she accepted the baby into her arms.

Beckett cradled Violet sweetly against her breast, watching the way her mittened hands waved gently near her face. 'Hi there, Violet,' she murmured. 'What a gorgeous little flower you are.'

'Why Violet Melodie?' Alexis asked, stroking a finger tip down the baby's cheek gently.

'She loved when Lanie played things for her on the iBump and calling a baby 'music' is a little strange so we decided on Melodie and Violet because she would kick like madness in happy-excitement when I'd read _The Twelfth Night_ to her. The character's name is Viola but Viola Melodie doesn't sound right either so we changed it to Violet instead.' Dave's words came out in an excited rush. 'And we figured if it was a boy we'd call him Sebastian Paul.'

'Lanie how come you're not sleeping?' Castle asked, dragging a chair up beside her as his girls cooed at the new little one. 'And why haven't you had a baby shower yet?'

'I'll answer question two first because it's easier. I didn't want a baby shower before hand because I didn't want to unwrap a bunch of new gifts so close to moving. Plain and simple. As for the second, or first, question, the drugs they gave me to help little missy into the world have strong contra-indicators with sedatives so I have to just let my body do its own thing for now. Harvey said once I get a blood test done to see if they're out of my system, I can go down for the count with some help.'

Lanie shifted in her bed a little. She was in a lot more discomfort this time than when she'd had Carey but that was also partly due to the fact that Violet had been all head where Carey's weight had been in his whole body. She'd nearly needed an episiotomy when Violet had been crowning but then she'd popped out as if the idea that being cut out was truly terrifying. It had been a hard labour, no question. Contractions starting mildly around ten in the morning and then her water-breaking at noon followed by twelve hours, Dave texting Beckett when he knew she'd be on her lunch break; Beckett took them regularly now that she was doing more desk duties and answered her texts in a prompt fashion.

'Richard, you want a turn?'

Castle nodded eagerly, and Beckett passed him the baby. The feeling of the newborn little girl in his arms brought memories of his own baby girl's birth flooding back to him, and the knowledge he'd do it again in three months with the loves of his lives - one having the baby and the other cheering her on - was a little overwhelming.

'Here,' he said passing Violet back to Dave and scrubbing the heels of his hands under his eyes. 'I've got something in my eye.'

'Of course.' Understanding his emotion, Dave took his little girl back in his arms, then glanced in the doorway where he saw the next trio of visitors. 'Now serving four five and six.'

'Issat the baby, Mama?' Dell, in his sleepy state, tugged on his mother's shirt-sleeve from his position on Ryan's hip. 'She's so little.'

'Yes she is.'

'We'll take our leave now. We want this one to be healthy and strong like Violet there.'

Ryan watched them leave, adjusted his hold on his boy. He watched as Dave passed Lanie the baby, then gestured for Ryan to pass Dell to him.

'Come here, little bro.'

Dave gently sat Dell on the bed beside Lanie and with a little manoeuvring, helped Dell hold the baby in his arms. 'There, you can practice a little for when your little brother or sister is born.'

`Now fully awake and a little freaked out with such responsibility, Dell made sure he kept his grip firm. 'What is her name?'

'Violet Melodie Parrish-Robbins.'

'Okay. Hi Vi-o-let. I am Dell and you are very puh-retty. Almost as puh-retty as my Tessi.'

'High praise indeed,' Lanie chuckled, fully away of the little boy's humongous crush on Javier Esposito's firstborn. 'You think she'll like Carey?'

'She will love Carey very much. And he'll love her too.' Dell leaned forward and put a little kiss on Violet's forehead. 'You suh-leep now Vi-o-let and I say hi tomorrow mornin'.'

'Yes, it's bedtime now, isn't it?' Honey-Milk watched as Dave took the baby back from the little boy and put her in her bassinet. 'For everyone. Lanie, I'll see you tomorrow, I'm on ten-to-eight.'

'Sounds good. Have a good night you guys.'

Ryan smiled and scooped Dell back into his arms, held him close as they took the elevator down to the staff parking level. It wasn't often Honey-Milk used her silver Hybrid but since she'd gotten pregnant again and would take Dell to the hospital preschool when both parents were working, it had made more sense for staying safe and organized.

Once home, Ryan tucked Dell into bed with his eponymous rex in the crook of his elbow; there'd be hell to pay if he didn't wake up with it in reaching distance. The moment he was in his own room, he flopped onto the bed, face-first and fully clothed. 'Oh sleep, how I've missed you,' he mumbled against the sheets.

'I know the feeling.'

He rolled to his back so he could watch Honey-Milk undress. 'How did everything go in the delivery room?'

'It was a little touch and go at first, certainly a lot more difficult than with Carey. He was

a text-book little baby, even if he was nearly the size of a bowling ball. Violet was even more stubborn if you can believe it. It took Lanie nearly thirty minutes of pushing just to get her to crown.'

'Holy shit.'

'Yeah and it got me thinking.' Honey-Milk sat down on the edge of the bed, using her most serious face possible after such a long and difficult night; it was never easy seeing friends in pain, even if you could minimally help. 'I think we should opt for the C-section with this baby, Kevin.'

'You think so?'

Honey-Milk nodded. 'All I could think of was the fact that Lanie's a bigger girl than me and this baby is smaller than the one I'm likely to have and I think it would be a wise decision all the way around to play it safe and have the operation.'

'I'll still be there, right?'

'Oh, of course, honey. Absolutely. Your role is a little different and the doctors are a lot stricter in the room but at this point, give what I know about my own body, I think it's the best decision to make.'

'Okay then.' Ryan sat up and moved into the middle of the bed to give her a supportive hug. 'I'll be there for you, whatever you decide, whether it's a home birth and I'm boiling the kettle on the stove or a space-age birthing suite and we're all in haz-mat suits.'

'I love you, Kevin.'

'I love you right back, Jenny.'

Honey-Milk kissed him, then snuggled down into the bed so her husband could undress as well and join her. It was nice that she had the ten am shift, it meant she could actually sleep like a nine-to-fiver tonight. 'How were things in the waiting room?'

'Good. A lot more relaxed this time around, mostly I think because we've now all been through it, or are about to go through it,' he corrected, thinking of Beckett. 'Dell wanted to come in and help you.'

'Really?'

'Yeah, I was refreshing him on what a C-section was, after you said Lanie might need one, and he said he was going to go into Lanie's room and tell her not to be scared.'

'Oh.' Honey-Milk felt her eyes well up. 'He's such a generous little soul, isn't he? How could he have possibly thought we wanted to replace him?'

'Let's not relive that hellish moment, okay? Lanie had a baby tonight, that's a good thing, so let's not muck up our good juju.'

'Juju?'

'A word I picked up from Espo, who got it from Meredeth. It's like karma or something.'

'Makes me think of candy.'

The bedroom door shoved open and Dell appeared there, knuckling at his eyes. 'Mama? Daddy?'

His voice was full of tears which had Ryan on alert. Dell was many things but a crier was low on the list. 'Dell, what's wrong?'

'I had a-a bad dream.'

'Oh, honey, it's okay, come here.' Honey-Milk patted the space between herself and Ryan. He didn't get nightmares often but when he did, they were vicious and nasty. It also didn't surprise her that he had one tonight; his body was all messed up from being awake and asleep and awake again at the hospital and he was a creature who needed his nightly eight-straight, uninterrupted. 'Was it about the baby?'

'No. I was a suh-tego-saurus and I was bein' chase by a rex.'

'I see.' Ryan made a mental note to not let him watch _Jurassic Park_ or _The Lost World_ for at least another five years. 'But you're here safe and sound.'

'But what if my rex comes-a life and tuh-ries to eat me?'

'Hey remember this?' Honey-Milk tapped the claw of the t-rex with the band-aid on it. 'T-rex is diabetic like you. He can't eat you because you're too sweet and he can't eat sugary things, just like you.'

'Oh yeah.' Appeased by this little remembrance, Dell frowned. 'Sorry for interrupting your guh-rown-up talk.'

Ryan held his fingertips and he fed the birds with Dell. 'No worries little bro. You want to stay here for a few minutes?'

Dell nodded, and curled up so his body was against Ryan's chest but his hand reached out to brush Honey-Milk's baby bump. 'I make sure baby doesn' have any nightmares too.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	27. Got Romance?

'Wow, Mom, look at you, all fancy-schmancy.'

'So glad I have you around to keep me caught up on fresh lingo.'

Beckett looked at herself in the mirror, wondering if she hadn't overdressed for the occasion in the floating lemon yellow dress that flattered her now-obviously increased cleavage - thank you hormones - and also accentuated the fact she was a sacred vessel for new life. She'd griped something fierce over the fact she couldn't wear high-heels with it but Meredeth had taken her straight from the maternity boutique straight into a shoe-store called 'Flat-Foot's' which specialized in dressy footwear for women who couldn't wear high heels for whatever reason. Then Meredeth had taken her to the most unique store she'd ever been in - the Sizzling Stork, another maternity boutiqu, only this one specialized in, God save her, sexy lingerie for mamas to be ranging from two to eight months pregnant.

She'd felt a little ridiculous picking out a negligee ensemble when she was now over six months pregnant, but as Meredeth wisely pointed out, not only was an excuse to buy new lingerie always fun but it was also a special occasion: her anniversary date night.

'So remind me again, why didn't you and Dad do something on your actual anniversary?'

'We did; we were in the Hamptons for the July holiday weekend, we went out for dinner the night of our anniversary, just the two of us.'

'You did?'

'Yeah, you were still trying to get your feet back under you after the JP airport fiasco.'

'Right. But I did get you a nice present.'

'That you did, and we drank wine out of those hand-blown wine glasses that night after we'd...celebrated in private. Well, I had soft cider, your dad had his precious Chateauneuf de Pape.' Beckett fluffed her hair with a quick finger comb. 'And his present to me is for tonight anyways.'

'Oh?' Alexis remembered her father being very excited about what he'd gotten Beckett for their one-year anniversary. 'And what might that be?'

'Tickets to the premier of _Good-Bye Earl_, that new musical about the two girls who off the one woman's abusive husband. All the songs are classic new-country hits.'

'Dad is taking you to see a show that has nothing but country music in it?'

'I have a weakness for the Dixie Chicks and a great amount of respect for Natalie Maines for standing her ground.'

Alexis could see the logic in this and her stepmother looked so happy it was hard not to smile with her. 'Mom, don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad to see you're finally happy about having this baby.'

'You didn't think I was before?'

'No, I knew you were, I just coudl tell you felt like you had something to prove. You don't. You're awesome just the way you are.'

'Oh Jesus, Lex, don't _do_ that, you're gonna make my mascara run.' Beckett waved her hands in front of her eyes and will the tears back. 'There we go. Where is your father, anyways?'

'I have no idea,' Alexis fibbed glibly as the house-line rang. 'Hello. Oh, yes. Okay. Thank you. She'll be right down. That was the doorman, he said your chariot is here.'

'It's more than an hour until the curtain.' Beckett frowned more in confusion than irritation at this revelation. 'I should have known your father is up to something.'

'Go, have a great time, take lots of pictures at the stage door, okay?'

'I will.'

Beckett gave her a light hug, and didn't have to look back to know that her girl was watching her go down the stairs carefully so she wouldn't slip or trip.

When she reached the sidewalk, Beckett's breath caught in her chest a moment before she burst out laughing. The doorman indeed had meant her chariot was awaiting: There, in front of the SoHo building's main entrance was a horse-drawn carriage, like something from a fairy-tale and Castle standing beside it in a perfectly pressed slate-grey suit. His tie matched her dressed perfectly and there was a smile on his face and a bouquet of white hibiscus in his hand.

'Happy anniversary, my beautiful Kate,' he told her when she drew near.

'Happy anniversary, my handsome Richard,' she replied, taking the bouquet of flowers from him. She tugged out one of the blossoms and tucked it into the edge of his pocket by his neatly folded pocket-square. 'There, now I gave you flowers too.'

The driver in full livery stepped down and tipped his hat to Beckett before offering her his arm to help her into the carriage. 'Watch your step, Missus Castle, can't have your cracking that egg under your dress.'

'Thank you sir.' Too charmed to bother with making him call her Detective, Beckett accepted his helping hand, all the while wondering how the hell her husband had scored this. Instead of dwelling on a mystery better left unexplained for both logical and romantic reasons she buried her nose in the fragrant flowers and breathed deeply. They were the same kind of flowers she'd worn in her hair when they'd exchanged vows by the ocean in front of their Hamptons home. Of course he would remember a detail that important.

'Thanks Danno, we're off to West Fifty-Third and Broadway.'

'You got it boss.' The cabbie clicked his tongue at the horse and they were off, taking in the mid-August sunset of the Big Apple.

'So,' Castle asked, 'am I a good husband or what?'

'A romantic one, no question. Kinda makes me feel like that antique pocket-watch I got for you feel a little foolishly small by comparison.'

Castle shook his head, drew back the front left flap of his jacket to show off where her gift was tucked into his vest pocket. 'It's one of the most precious gifts I've ever been given. Alexis, you and this one-' he rubbed his hand over her bump '-are in a three way tie for first. Did you eat?'

'Yeah, you said we weren't having dinner until after the show.'

'Which promises to be a smash, believe me. Hey, I forgot to do something earlier.'

'What?'

He leaned in and gave her a soft, tender kiss. 'I always kiss you hello on a date.'

'Sorry, I can't hear you, my brain is going to mush with all this romance,' she laughed, then sat back to enjoy the ride with her husband and her unborn child.

As they traveled through the streets, Beckett felt like an absolute princess as everyone stopped and stared at them. Normally, she would have shied away from the attention but the pure fantasy of it all made her soak it up like a pregnant little sponge. When they arrived at the theatre, Beckett kept her flowers tight in her hand and saw there was a small red-carpet was set up and after the limo pulled away from the curb, they filled the vacant spot. There were photographers there, and as she watched Castle handled the reporters with the deft hand of a seasoned veteran, she found herself responding to the photographers demands for a glance over for a photo-op.

Yes, tonight was definitely all about the fantasy.

* * *

'I have a question.'

'Yes.'

'How are we getting home tonight, by hansom cab or a regular one?'

Castle laughed as he escorted his pregnant bride into The Harbour, a beautiful and completely non-kitschy retro club. They'd gone there a few years back, after the Picasso case had ended and Beckett along with Esposito and Ryan had been award medals of commendation for their exemplary duty; it was the same case where Esposito had taken a bullet in his left bicep and Ryan had tackled the shooter through a second-story warehouse window. To celebrate the success of the case they'd come here, a place straight out of World War Two-era New York. There was a twenty-one piece jazz band in white coats and an Art-Deco mirror that turn slowly over the dance floor, reflecting and refracting light. While the cigarette girls still wore the tiny costumes of the era, they no longer sold cigarettes but rather the kind of things less classy establishments would have in a bathroom vending machine - after-dinner mints, mouthwash, sample-sized vials of designer cologne and perfume and even condoms.

Though they'd previously gone there for drinks and dancing, Castle happened to know that their chef was top-notch too and they were lucky enough to catch the late seating. He knew it wouldn't be a problem, given that the maitre d' always referred to him as Ricky Castle, a certain level of familiarity only a select few amount of people were permitted. He also knew the chef would love to hear his feedback, as he'd been an excellent resource for one of his earlier works _Twenty Pounds of Brown Sugar_, where a woman accidentally witness a mob execution at her local bakery.

They were shown to their seats, one of the best in the house - directly across the dance-floor from the bandleader's podium - and presented with a bottle of non-alchoholic champagne along with a bowl of strawberries to nibble while they perused the set-menu.

'This all looks so delicious, I don't know where to begin picking something out,' Beckett murmured.

'Well, the fun thing here is that the courses are presented and cleared and then we have time to dance in between,' Castle told her. 'And before you object, we can still dance together. Don't go thinking you're some kind of mammoth.'

'Yet. I heard that very quiet 'yet' loud and clear.'

'Did I mention you look like a beautiful little buttercup?'

Thankfully before Beckett could give him a playful swat on the knee, the server approached them and greeted them warmly. 'Welcome to the Harbour. My name is Suzanne and I'll be taking care of you this evening. What can I bring for your first course?'

'I will have the grilled lobster bisque with almond creme-fraiche,' Castle said, passing the appetizer menu back. 'Kate?'

'I'm not sure, maybe the oyster gazpacho?'

'Hold on, is the oyster cooked or smoked?'

'Smoked.'

Castle shook his head. 'Nope, that won't work, you're six months pregnant, Kate, and Junior won't like that.'

'Okay, what about the pissaladiere with crispy pancetta and artichokes.'

'What kind of cheese is on that one, Suzanne?'

'A shredded gruyere and emmental blend.'

'Those are on the safe list, Richard,' Beckett reminded him and passed her menu over. 'The pissaladiere it is.'

Suzanne made a note in her little black book and hurried off, leaving Castle and Beckett with their faux-champagne and strawberries.

'This has been one of the most romantic nights of my life,' Beckett told him, taking his hand and threading the fingers through hers, studying his wedding ring. 'I don't think there's anything that could top it.'

'Don't count those chickens, Detective.'Castle glanced over at the bandleader, who nodded subtly to him.

'What are you talking about?'

Castle only pointed towards the bandleader, who'd picked up a second microphone from the singer of his band and spoke in a musical voice that hinted of the islands.

'Thank you very much for coming this evening, and now we have a rather special event for tonight. If I may ask, would you all be so polite as to give the dance floor over to Richard and Kate, who are celebrating their second wedding anniversary with us tonight.

Beckett's heart palpitated wildly in her chest as she heard the opening strains of their wedding song - Frank Sinatra's rendition of 'The Way You Look Tonight'; if anything could have made the night more romantic it was this: getting to relive the magic of her first dance with her husband. Only instead of it being on a beach under a night sky full of stars, they were in a ballroom with a water-front view of the majestic New York City skyline. Either way, it meant she got to dance with her husband to their wedding song.

He pulled her to her feet and began to lead her around the dancefloor in a smooth but jaunty waltz and as he held her close, Castle began to softly sing along.

'Some day, when I'm awfully low, and the world is cold, I will feel a glow, just thinking of you and the way you look tonight.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	28. Big Brother to the Rescue: 26 Weeks

'Where are we on financials?'

'No debits, no cash withdrawals and nothing on the credit cards that tells us she was anything but an insurance adjuster.'

'There's something we're missing then.' Beckett pursed her lips, looked down at her belly where the baby was doing some serious high kicks. 'What you think in there, hmm? What are we missing?'

'Much as I don't want to discourage you mothering your baby, Beckett,' Esposito smiled, 'I don't think even a smart one like yours and Castle's can kick out an idea via the womb in Morse Code.'

'Mother. That's it.' She turned to Esposito, the thunderbolt of ideas all over her face. 'We've been running Janice Hedlund's financial data, but we know after her husband passed away she had some of her bills changed back to her maiden name Turner. Look into Janice Turner, and I think we'll find what we're looking for.'

'On it.'

'And you and I are going to get something to drink,' she murmured, taking her bump into the break room and fixing herself a toffee-nut steamer. Inexplicably, pregnancy had made her want hot drinks when it was over eighty-five in the shade with this late-summer heat wave. But Beckett had long ago stopped questioning her body's motives when it came to pregnant cravings. She was just concerned about eating well and in a timely fashion.

She'd just flipped the switch for the steaming mechanism on Brewster when she heard Ryan on the phone behind her.

'No, I think we can manage that. Tell him we'll offer six even. Right. Thanks.'

Turning around, Beckett gave her friend the questioning eye. 'Why are you here?'

'Good afternoon to you too, Kate.'

'Sorry, that came out wrong. I mean, why are you here, aren't you and Honey-Milk supposed to be house hunting?'

'We were and she got called in to work, so her and Dell are at Saint Vincent's and I'm here so I don't have to go home and wonder how the hell I'm going to pack up three people's lives in time for the move.'

'You found a place?' Esposito asked, coming in with a note in hand for Beckett. 'You going over the cuckoo's nest or what?'

'We've put in an offer on a place in Clinton Hill, between Ninth and Tenth. It's right within the budget range, close for both of us for work and a good school for Dell, and the best part is, if they take our offer, we can get in before the baby's born.'

'Congrats, bro, sounds like we'll be rounding up the troops again.'

'I don't know how much help I'll be,' Beckett offered, pouting a little. 'I'll be huge by, like, next week.'

Esposito and Ryan both wisely held their tongues that their boss was already big and instead decided to go the cliche route of all men saving their hides around pregnant women. 'How are you feeling?'

'Good, he or she is less fussy now. The doctor says the baby is going to be around seven or eight pounds and I've put on enough support weight to not make it an issue for my body, but I could still do with another ten pounds just to be sure there aren't any complications.'

'That's good.'

'Go ahead, you can say it. I'm already a moose, right?'

Ryan cleared his throat. 'There is no right way to answer that.'

'Roger that, rubber ducky,' Esposito added, and had the joy of watching the level-headed Beckett do a spit-take with her drink.

'I'm sorry, what?'

'Roger that, rubber ducky? That would be a Mere-ism,' he grinned. 'Anytime I ask her about something Tessi-related it's become her standard response. So I thought I'd try it out on someone else and see if it is really as funny as I thought it was.'

'Is Uncle Javi being funny?' Beckett asked the bump, then stopped when Ryan couldn't quite turn his chuckle into a cough. 'Right, murder investigation, financial data. I'll have another pass at the phone records under the name Janice Turner.'

The trio parted ways, with Beckett going back to her desk to run the data. It was getting less and less weird to be going into the field - not that she didn't miss it, but since her belly arrived in a room or a car or an elevator before the rest of her now, it was nice to have the change of pace. And, she thought, as the baby kicked her in the kidney, it definitely made finding a place to take a leak much easier.

Esposito watched his boss head for the ladies' room and wondered if she knew just how many preciously hilarious preggo-cliches she was hitting now. His own sweet bride had hit them too, but the title of Biggest Nervous Wreck still had to go to Ryan before the. Lili didn't count in his mind because her mother-in-law had made her pregnant life a living hell when she'd been carrying Rosie.

He was barely through the first page of phone records when Beckett came up to his desk. 'Javi,' she whispered. 'I need some help.'

'What's up?'

'I...I think I need to go to the hospital.'

Now his head snapped up and Ryan also having the daddy-radar zipped over in his wheel-footed chair. 'Hospital? What's wrong?'

'I went to use the bathroom and I, ah...I was a little...bloody...down there.' Beckett's cheeks burned at sharing such personal details, but reminded herself they'd both been through childbirth with their respective women and once again, were in a position to be a hell of a lot more sympathetic to her plight than others would have been. 'I just want to get it checked out to be sure.'

'Of course.'

'Hey Ryan.' One of the uniforms stucked his head around the wire-mesh wall of the bullpen. 'Got a lady here says she was out of town when you did the canvass on the Hedlund homicide and thinks she might have some info on it.'

'Go, I got this,' Esposito reassured his partner before turning back to Beckett. 'Get your purse, I'll go talk to Montgomery.'

Beckett nodded and as a precaution sat in her chair, running her hands over her bump. For the first time since learning of her pregnancy she felt a lick of true panic. What if something was wrong? What if the baby was coming early? What if...what if...what if?

She didn't have much time to dwell on it, because Esposito and the captain came out of the latter's office at double-time speed.

'Detective, you're going to get yourself looked after. Take the rest of the day, no argument,' he said in his most authoritative voice, the one that gave zero wiggle room for argument. 'Where's your hubby?'

'Sir, Castle is doing a Q&A and autograph signing at a bookstore in Newark for the Roach Coach supplementary book to the Nikki Heat series.'

'I'll text him in the elevator,' Esposito reassured them both; the moment they were there he did just that. He glanced over and despite her placid calm surface, he knew that her brain and her nerves were working overtime. 'I'm sure everything is fine but we're going to get you checked out just to be sure.'

'Were you this calm with Meredeth?'

'I think so, but then I was a little too close to tell.'

Beckett's cell chirp-chirped Castle's ring-tone and she picked up almost right away. 'Richard?'

'Kate, where are you, what's going on?'

'I'm leaving the precinct now, Esposito's taking me to the hospital to have Phillips take a look, we'll meet you there, okay?'

'Okay. I love you.'

'Love you too.'

* * *

They made it to the hospital and were admitted right away; thankfully there was no rom-com mix-up about Esposito being her baby-daddy. He waited politely in the hallway while she was changed into a gown for the examination and kept his back turned away from her lady-parts when Phillips came in to do the exam.

'Don't tell Rick about this one, okay?' she said. 'The last thing I need is him freaking out on you for being so polite.'

'The way I see it, the only person I should see poked and probed like that is my wife, and the only person doing said poking or probing is either her baby-doc in an environment like this or me in a far more romantic one.'

Beckett chuckled as she held out her arm for a blood test to be drawn. 'Ryan mentioned you and Mere are already thinking of another one?'

'Yeah. We want like three or four Dan-o-Ricans and we want them close in age.'

'That's so sweet. Who knew big, bad single-guy Esposito would turn out to be such a family man?'

'I've always been a family man, I just knew I needed to find the right woman and Meredeth is all kinds of right.'

'Aw.' Beckett pulled a teasingly sweet face at him, then glanced down as the doctor finished taking her blood for testing. 'Wanna hear a bad joke?'

'Always.'

'I went to the doctor but all he did was suck blood from my neck, do not go and see Doctor Acula.'

Esposito laughed. 'I saw that Mitch Hedburg clip as well.'

'Dave got to see him live, you know.'

'Really? Well, yeah that makes sense, since he's got family up that way.'

'I was by to see Lanie a few days ago, Violet's looking amazing.' Beckett leaned back, twisted to her side so the baby wasn't crushing against her organs. 'Carey's so excited about his little sister. He is proudly telling everyone who comes to visit Violet's eyes match.'

The mention of Carey fixating on that particular aspect had Esposito thought of the way the young boy had been so eager and ready to go into the birthing room with his mother to make sure Lanie was 'not suh-cared' as he'd phrased it. 'Dell's going to rock it too, I think.'

The door opened and Castle came in, looking like he'd seen a ghost. 'Katie, what's going on? Are you okay?'

'Yeah, the doctor did an exam and once they have my blood-test back, they'll give us the rundown.'

'You're not having any pain or cramping or anything?' he asked; Esposito stood up to give the father of the baby the seat of honour and Castle took Beckett's slim hand in his wide one. 'You don't think it's premature labour?'

'No I don't and the doctor doesn't either.'

'I'm going to go feed the meter on the car.' Esposito knew when he was a third wheel and ducked out to give them some privacy.

Beside his wife, Castle shook his head. 'I shouldn't have gone to Newark, you said you were feeling out of sorts this morning, I-'

'Richard, it's going to be fine.'

The door opened once more and Phillips came back in with Beckett's chart in hand. 'Your blood work is fine, Kate, no signs of premature labour, pre-eclampsia or placenta previa. Your iron and sugar are all normal, your blood-pressure is fine so the answer I have for you is that there is no answer. I know that's frustrating for you, but it's the truth. The majority of the time it is just something the body does.'

'So is there anything I can do to prevent it?' Beckett asked and was irritated when Phillips shook her head.

'Nope. Again, it's one of those things. If you like, I can order you to get a day of bed-rest.'

'Yes,' Castle replied immediately.

'Then consider this your twenty-four hour mandate,' Phillips chuckled as she watched her patient roll her eyes good-naturedly at her husband. 'I'll bring your discharge papers in a moment.'

Alone just the two of them again, Castle kissed his bride. 'See? Nothing to worry about.'

'Me? You're the one having palpitations.'

'And you weren't?'

'I never said that.' Beckett gave him a kiss. 'We also need to get Espsoito a very big chocolate bar.'

'Bar, hell, I'll buy him shares in Hershey stock. Nothing to big for making sure you're safe and sound.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	29. Toy Talk

'Mama?'

'Yes Dell.'

'Why we givin' Violet cuh-lothes? I give my Tessi her Cuh-rush tur-tell and she love it. Why we not give Violet something fun?'

'Two reasons, honey,' Honey-Milk explained patiently as they rode up the elevator of Lanie and Dave's apartment building. 'One, she isn't even a month old so right now eating, sleeping and filling up her diaper takes up most of her day.'

'What about reason two?'

'Auntie Lanie doesn't have a lot of clothes just for a little girl. You can't put her in the boy clothes Carey wore when he was a baby.'

'But she is lit-tle, the fashion po-lice not gonna suh-top her.'

Honey-Milk laughed richly. Her little man had quite the sense of humour. 'It's the principle of the thing, sweetie. If this one in here-' she patted her big belly '-turns out to be a girl, would you want her wearing your old clothes?'

'No, that would be silly. Oh.' Dell put one and one together and nodded sagely. 'I under-suh-tand, Mama. We don' want Vi-o-let to look silly.'

'Exactly.'

The elevator doors opened and they walked down the hallways to five-twelve, where Honey-Milk knocked on the door; it was answered a few short moments later by Lili, with Rosie holding her hand.

'Hi guys, come on in!' Her pretty face was glowing with pregnancy herself as she stepped back in welcome.

'Hi Dell,' Rosie added shyly with a little giggle.

'Hi Rosie. Thank you again for my birthday puh-resent.'

'What manners,' Lili sighed.

'I just bet the next one will be an unholy terror,' Honey-Milk laughed as they walked into the apartment.

It definitely looked like Lanie and Dave's home now, she thought, and not just the new place. The kitchen and living room were both larger and they had a great view of the street from the large windows. There was the smell of good food in the air, undercut with the candy-sweetness of perfume and the innocent smells of a new baby - talc, milk and fresh clean soap.

In the living room, Meredeth and Robina seated on the floor watching Tessi, Carey and Kelley play blocks together while Beckett had a place of honour in a wide armchair and in the corner of the couch was Lanie, discreetly nursing Violet under a pale-purple receiving blanket.

'Hey Jenny, hi Dell. She's just finishing her snack up here and then she's going to burp.'

'Bup wud?' Tessi asked her mother. 'Ma-my, bup wud?'

'No, _cari_, a baby burping isn't rude,' Meredeth giggled. 'They aren't big enough to get the air out of their tummies on their own.

'I big.'

'You're getting very big.'

Tessi smiled, then imitated her mother's giggle almost perfectly when she saw Dell. 'Hi Dell,' she said with obvious delight in her voice. 'Book?'

'We can read a book, Tessi.' Dell let go his mother's hand, took his bag of Tessi-toys from her. He sat down beside his girl, plunking his oversized dinosaur encyclopedia on the floor. He loved the book for three reasons - one, it had been a gift from Tessi, two, he could share it with everyone so none of his friends were left out and three he could show off how good a reader he was, a skill he took great pride in.

Since the children were well occupied, the grown-up girls were able to have their own chat time while they snacked on cheese and crackers, fresh fruit and veggies, and some very delicious bite-sized soft pretzels.

'Look at you, Jenny and Kate,' Lanie commented, as Violet finished her snack and she was put on her mother's knee, supported at the jaw while Lanie gently tapped her back. 'Who do you think is going to pop first?'

'That might be a bit of a gimme question,' Honey-Milk explained, shifting to the edge of the couch to load up on a healthy snacks plate. 'Ryan and Harvey and I talked and it looks like this baby's going to be a planned C-section for sure.'

'For sure, for sure, or option-b for sure?' Meredeth clarified and Honey-Milk shook her head.

'The baby is going to be too large for me to pass through the birth canal without putting it and myself into the red zone. Specifically, I would probably have to have my tailbone broken on purpose by the doctor in order to allow more movement of the pelvic bone.'

Beckett shifted in her chair. 'Owie.'

'Yeah and even with an epidural that would still take a lot of healing time on its own wheras a surgical scar is far easier to deal with.'

'How do you think Ryan is going to handle that?' Lanie asked.

Now Honey-Milk got a little misty. 'He's already started reading the parts of the books on what a birth coach does for a C-section delivery.'

'He's a good man.'

'He's my Kevin.'

'Okay, enough mush, time for presents! I'll go and put this little one in her crib and then let 'er rip.'

Lanie popped up from her spot with the gorgeous baby in her arms and without even looking up from Dell's fascinating book on the big monsters, Carey piped up, 'No fo-get pop-pull, Mama.'

'Of course not, baby.'

When Lanie returned, baby monitor in hand, she explained her son's reminder. 'When Dave went to get Carey in the morning from Lili and Cam's and told him he had a little sister named Violet, Carey decided she had to have a purple blanket every night to sleep with.'

'Pop-pull has bub-bas.'

'Yes, Carey, it has bubbles all over it.'

'Vi-let eyes mitch.'

'And her eyes match.'

Beckett watched in fascination as Carey chattered away and Lanie understood him so perfectly.' Would she be able to do that with her baby? How did Lanie, or any of them decipher it? Rather than dwell too much on something that wouldn't happen for at least another year, she nudged her present towards her friend.

'Open mine first.'

* * *

'Hey, how was the baby shower?'

'Amazing. Lanie is so excited to have a little girl, and Carey's such an amazing big brother already. I think Dell's going to have some competition for that award come November.'

Castle looked over from the couch where he and Alexis were eating pizza and watching some rather gory looking movie with subtitles to see his bride come in the door, waddling over as she supported her belly. 'We ordered from Petrelli's. I see why Meredeth goes nuts for the prosciutto stuffed crust.'

'Care to share a bite?'

'You've got your own, warming in the oven,' Alexis told her, popping up to get her a slice. 'You want some milk or iced tea or a Reed's?'

'Reed's, please, sweetie. Oh that feels good.' Beckett propped her aching feet on the coffee table and wiggled down deep into the comfortable suede. 'I could feel the fluid building up in my feet but I couldn't put them up at Lanie's because there was food on the coffee table.'

'Want a rub for them?'

'In a little while. After pizza.'

Alexis brought over the plate and immediately Beckett wrinkled her nose. 'There are plants on my pizza.'

'Dad got you the vegetarian one. Easier on the arteries and has slightly more nutritional value than the others.'

'Bla bla bla. Broccoli doesn't belong on a pizza.'

'Be a big girl, Katie-Lou, and eat your veggies.' Castle gave her a kiss on the temple. 'Then you'll get your cookies and milk before bedtime.'

'Keep it up, I dare you.' Beckett picked up the first slice of three and dipped it into the ranch dressing. 'Good thing I have this, if I'm eating salad and cheese on bread. Oh, mmm, Lanie says big thank you to you Alexis for the gift. She tucked the Harrod's puppy in with Violet when she was still asleep.'

'Everyone needs a cuddly toy to tuck in with at night.'

'You mean like Monkey-Bunky?' Castle teased her.

'Or Fish-Face,' Beckett added around a mouthful of pizza. 'What did you have when you were a kid?'

'I don't want to say. It's embarrassing.'

Beckett gave him a withering stare, cheeks plumped up as she ate and talked at the same time. 'You wanna talk embarrassing? I burst into tears at the drop of a hat these days, doesn't matter where including the precinct. Dish.'

'Fine. When I was first born, I didn't look like a boy so my mother's friends kept giving her all kinds of pink things, and she'd discreetly donate them to children's charities, until this one co-star she had was in Miami on vacation and sent a stuffed pink flamingo. I called him Steve.'

'You had a pink flamingo?'

'Yeah.' Castle laughed a little at the memory. 'I'd go to toy shops and get doll's clothes and dress him in ridiculous outfits. I even dressed him up in a little white suit when _Saturday Night Fever_ came out and called him Steve the Saturday Night Flamingo.'

'Oh my god. That may be the cutest thing you've ever told me.'

'Even cuter than when I said your...no, no, can't tell you that, not with certain company present.' He jerked his head towards Alexis, who made a disgusted face.

'That's gross, Dad, I don't need to know things like that.'

'And yet you know we do things like that because I'm pregnant. Tough conundrum, isn't it Lex?' Beckett pointed out, which had the young woman nodding her agreement. 'So what are you planning tonight?'

'Since Alexis is taking you to the movies and Meredeth is going over to Jenny's to help her with some baby prep-cooking, I invited Esposito and Ryan over for a guys' movie night. We're watching _Carlito's Way _and _Sin City_.'

'I liked _Sin City_. Of course, after we worked the Mistress Venom case, I could never think of it in the same way as before.'

'That good or bad?'

Finished with her dinner, Beckett set her plate aside and cuddled up with her husband. 'Good thing. It gave it a little more depth, some how.'

'I can understand that. Oh, did Honey-Milk mention they got the new place in Clinton Hill?'

'She did, but only briefly, they haven't told Dell yet and she didn't want him to overhear it and freak out. You remember how Ryan said he reacted when they told him about the new baby.'

'That was so sad and yet understandable. The kid's very smart. He's going to be like a math prodigy or get a doctorate before he can drink or something. I can feel it.'

Castle stroked his hand over the bump where their baby was slumbering for the moment. 'And what do you see for this one?'

'President. Cop. Writer. An astronaut. That's the beautiful ting about babies. There's so much potential there. You could be holding the next John Lennon or Hilary Clinton or Meryl Streep in your arms and watching them make funny faces when they try to pass gas.'

'Alexis used to fart right before she sneezed. Like all the time, that girl had it coming from both ends,' he laughed, making Beckett chuckle too.

There was a buzz at the door and Castle hollered over, 'It's open!'

'You leave the door unlocked?'

'Technically you did, since you got home last,' he reminded her as Ryan and Esposito came in, Ryan with a pair of six-packs and Esposito with a grocery bag of snacks. 'What is all that?'

'Good things. Meredeth made her enchilada con queso dip.'

'The one with the refried beans?'

'I remember the last time you ate that. I had to wear a gas mask into the bathroom for two weeks straight, so on that cheerful note, I'm going to find my child and leave the burping and belching to the men this time.' Beckett gave her husband a kiss. 'Love you, we'll call when we're on our way.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	30. The Peapod Bond

The first thing Beckett felt when she awoke was a little melancholy coupled coupled with a craving for a BLT. Rolling over, she saw it was just past seven, which didn't bother her, even though they'd taken Alexis to the airport the night before. Being on day two of a week's vacation time so she and Castle could get the nursery ready meant Beckett didn't have to get up until her body said so. She'd been doing her reading and had learned the itchy-feet feeling was a totally natural nesting instinct for a pregnant woman, which was a relief because she'd sincerely thought she was starting to lose her cop-edge.

Yawning, she found her bathrobe and wandered downstairs, one hand on the railing, the other on the bump, to find Castle brooding in his coffee while he stood waiting for his bagel to toast.

'Morning, Rick,' she mumbled sleepily as she poured herself a glass of calcium-enriched orange juice.

'Morning, Kate.'

'Why so glum?'

'My little girl's gone again. Off to get herself educated some more. She's started looking into medical schools back here in the states. You know what she wants to do?' Castle glanced up.

'What?'

'Work with the NYPD as a criminal profiler, write books about how to catch killers.' He gave a little laugh, hoping it would shake the sadness of seeing her off at the airport the night before. 'She told me it was the best way she knew how to combine the family legacies of cop and writer.'

Beckett's eyes welled up a little so she pretended to look in the freezer for ice cubes to dry them. It was such an amazing thing that Alexis had welcomed her so readily into her life when she already had a mother. But then, Evil Meredith wasn't exactly a mother who'd come to school plays and soccer games; Alexis probably had more contact with Beckett herself in the nearly five years she'd dated Castle than her bio-mom in her entire life. And Beckett had been a little younger than Alexis when her own mother had been murdered, so maybe it was not just a void in Alexis' life she was filling.

'Well, it certainly been naked horse thief.'

'Did I ever tell you that story completely?'

'No, and it's too early in the morning.' Wondering if she could get Castle out of his funk and breakfast all at once, Beckett rubbed a hand over her large belly now. There was no escaping it, she thought, going over to the table; she was definitely waddling now. 'Maybe I should go back to bed, I'm feeling a little worn out.'

It worked, for Castle's head snapped up and he eyed her with concern. 'You've been working hard lately, Kate. What you need is an iron rich breakfast so you're getting my quasi-pseudo-sort-of healthy BLTs and oatmeal pancakes.'

'Oh, honey, you don't have to go to the trouble.'

'Nonsense. You are growing my child, Alexis' little brother or sister in there.' Castle paused, then turned to her. 'You just want me to make you breakfast, don't you?'

'Okay you got me.' Beckett held out her hands, wrists side-by-side. 'Clap me in irons.'

'Darling it's a little too early for cops and robbers right now. Have a nibble...and then maybe I will,' he teased her, laying his lips against the smooth column of her throat.

'You're not upset my interest in making love with you has been coming and going, are you?'

'Of course not. I love you for all of you, Kate, not just the pieces that are convenient.'

'I love you too. Now about that BLT...'

They enjoyed breakfast together, and Beckett had to admit a BLT trying to disguise itself as nutrition - turkey bacon, baby spinach instead of lettuce and tomato on twelve-grain wheat-toast - was a BLT nonetheless and once drowned in delicious maple syrup the oatmeal pancakes were edible as well. Showers were had and Beckett smiled as she stepped out, patting her bump dry and feeling the baby kicking away to let her know he or she was in there.

'I hear you, tiny,' she murmured while she dressed. 'Now we get to be all cutesy-cutesty with Daddy. You missing your big sister? Don't worry, you'll be here before she's home for Christmas and you'll have lots to talk about.'

* * *

'Attach post A with bracket B to post B.'

'I don't understand what possessed you to think you could do this.'

'Kate, it's a rite of passage. I did this for Alexis, I'm doing it for this one. Of course, I was a lot younger and braver back then.'

Beckett shook her head from her spot on the cushioned chair. 'I don't know, Castle, the way you decided to try and put together a white-cloth wedding reception in a week for Ryan when he eloped with Jenny was pretty brave. Though you did have Alexis helping you on the details, but is that cheating or just smart?'

'That was a good night.' Castle grinned broadly as he remembered. 'For many many reasons.'

'Have you ever shown Esposito the photos of him with his tie around his head?'

'Are you kidding? It was on his laptop wallpaper until he met Meredeth. And you're distracting me.'

Castle turned back to the task at hand. He'd remembered the way Beckett had admired Lanie's crib for Carey and Violet, and gotten the number from Esposito for Antonio's wood-working firm. The sturdy and fragrant red cedar baby-bed he'd had custom-designed had a wood-burn etching of a castle in the headboard, similar to the swirling P-R on Lanie's and the calligraphy E on Meredeth's. Now that the paint-job was dry - a banana-creme yellow with palm tree stenciled boarder - came the traditional parents-to-be part: putting the damn crib together.

'Okay, this is post A and this is post B, but where's bracket B?'

'Whatever you do, no swearing, the books say he or she is starting to imprint our voices and we want to keep happy happy thoughts in his or her tiny little head. And bracket B is beside your foot.' Beckett gnawed her lip so she wouldn't laugh at how flustered he was. 'Are you sure you don't want my help?'

'I'm sure.'

'Well, here.' She leaned in and gave him a sweet kiss. 'I'm sure that helps.'

'It does.'

'Hello? Anyone home? Richard? Kate?'

Martha's voice rang out downstairs and Castle hollered back, 'We're in the nursery!'

Beckett's smile was automatic and prideful as her mother-in-law came up the stairs. Leaning back in her chair, she stretched her long legs as Martha walked in, in her early-fall best.

'Well this is a first, Kate isn't trying to take away the toys from you Richard and you're not hovering over her like a nosy little worker-bee.' She set her stylish purse down and wandered over to see the progress of her grandchild's crib. 'Hmm. Well there's your first problem dear, you're trying to attach it backwards.'

'Martha, I had no idea you were so handy,' Beckett commented.

'I'm not, but I was a single mother and I was determined to do as much of it on my own as possible, and one of those tasks that proved to myself I could was putting together Richard's crib.'

'Are you sure you didn't just strap together some empty crates that once contained liquor bottles?' Castle teased her and got a swat on the head as he readjusted the bracket. 'Et voila! She floats, cap'n.'

'Bravo, Richard, you made a corner.'

'Ah, thank you for that, Mother, always putting me in my place.'

Castle began to fish out the next furniture bracket when all of a sudden Beckett burst into tears. Taken aback, he dropped his tools and looked at his mother with a panicked expression. He got to his feet so he could crouch at eye-level with his bride, who'd buried her face in her hands.

'Kate, what's wrong? Is it something with the baby?'

'No, no,' she sobbed.

'Did I do something?'

'No, you're wonderful, it's...it's your mom,' she whispered in a shaky voice.

Martha blinked, unsure of how to react. Years of work in the Broadway theatre had given her the skill to keep her face neutral as she asked, 'Have I done something?'

'Oh, Martha, no not like that.' Beckett took a breath, tried to steady herself but to little result. 'Just...seeing you and Rick tease each other, it...it's making me miss mine and remembering she won't see my children, but you will.'

'Kate-'

'I'm sorry if that offends you, Martha, I truly am.'

'Kate,' she said again, 'it's always hard when we have these big happy life changing events because we're reminded of those we've lost. But you've got your father and when we all went out to celebrate this little bundle of joy, I've truly never seen a man so proud of his little girl or so excited to be a grandfather.'

This was enough to have Beckett dissolving into waterworks once more, and she openly wept on Martha's shoulder; the woman simply let her, stroking her hair gently and shushing her softly while Castle continued to work quietly on assembling the crib. When Beckett's sniffles had subsided, Martha put her finger under her daughter-in-law's chin and winked at her.

'Kate, you'll be a hell of a mother and your children will know about yours because they'll know her through you.'

'Really?'

Martha nodded. 'Like Meredeth and Javier, their children will know all about Freja and Constance because of Meredeth.'

'I miss her.' The words came out on a gusty sigh. 'I miss her so much.'

'And?'

'I've been keeping her out of my mind because thinking about her hurts too much sometimes.'

'That's perfectly understandable.' From his spot on the other side of the chair, Castle nodded. 'Everyone has those moments.'

'Oh, god, Rick, I'm so sorry, I-'

'Why the hell are you apologizing? You're pregnant and missing your mom, plain and simple.' He turned her face towards his and kissed her. 'I get it.'

'I'll go make a pot of tea, I think.'

Martha slipped out of the room and once alone, Castle pulled Beckett to her feet to wrap his arms around her from behind - a front-ways hug was difficult to manage these days. 'I love you so much, Kate.'

'I love you right back, Rich.' Beckett held his arms around her, solid and warm and real. 'Do you think...I mean, I know we had kind of already said back when Carey was born that we wouldn't have any 'J' names but...I think if we have a girl, I'd like to call her Joanna.'

'Joanna Alexandra Castle. Jack for short, if we like.'

Beckett's eyebrows drew together. 'Think about that.'

'Too boyish?'

'No, say it out loud.'

'Jack Castle. Jack Castle.' He looked blank for a moment, then lit up like a Christmas tree when he realized his gaffe. 'Oh! Jack Castle, I get it.'

'And you're providing for our daughter in university and our unborn child by writing for a living. Thank God they've got me in there too.'

'Snicker all you like missy, but ta-da!' Castle gestured like a magician at the end of his illusion. 'We have a crib. Or at least to start, a crib frame.'

Castle tipped the frame so it was right-way up and sat in the empty space. 'What you think, can you picture little Ricky or Jojo here?'

'I think...you are the best husband anyone could ask for in the whole world.' Beckett went to get up and found herself a little sucked in by the plush green cushion of the chair. 'And I think I'm stuck. A little help, please?'

Castle got to his feet and pulled Beckett to hers, turning her in his arms so he spooned against her. They studied the crib frame like it was an alien spacecraft, his wide hands on her belly and her slim ones covering his. 'That's your bed, tiny.'

Martha watched from the doorway, her heart warming with pride as her son and daughter-in-law admired their creation.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	31. Another Moving Day: 29 Weeks

'Wow.'

'I know, right?'

'It's big, Daddy.'

Dell looked up at the building where he and his parents were going to be moving into. It was funny to think this was the place he'd call home now, but he'd also understood that the baby would need its own room and they simply didn't have the space in their old apartment. Craning his neck up, he studied the windows that his father had pointed out to him. 'Which one is my room?'

'You see that one up there, on the third floor by the corner of the building? That's your room there.'

'Can we go and see?'

'You betcha. Mama and Auntie Merry and Auntie Katie are already up there.'

Dell's eyes went wide. 'Is my Tessi with her and the feets?'

'The what?'

'The feets, I heard Mama call her tummy the feets when she talk to Auntie Dana.'

'I think you mean foetus, buddy.'

'Uh-huh, that.'

'Listen, Dell.' Ryan took his son by the hand and sat with him on the stone steps of four-fifty-seven West Fifty-Sixth Street. They'd always been able to have their man-to-man talks and it made Ryan proud he was raising such a solid kid. 'I know there's been a lot of change this year and I want to tell you how proud I am of you.'

'Really?'

'Yes. There's a lot of children in the world who wouldn't be so understanding and grown-up like you've been.'

'I am a big boy,' Dell said importantly. 'I gotta set an ah-sample for my suh-now-fuh-lake and Tessi.'

'That's what Mama said, didn't she?' When his son nodded Ryan couldn't help but laugh a little. 'I love you, Thomas Delaney. Can I tell you a secret?'

'Of course, Daddy.'

'I hope Mama has a girl because we've already got the best little boy in the world.'

'Daddy,' Dell squirmed on the stone steps. He always felt funny in the tummy when his dad gushed about him like that. 'What about Jasmine?'

'Jasmine who?'

'The puh-rincess in _Aladdin_, Daddy. That is a good name.'

'Jasmine Ryan. Not bad.' Ryan held up his finger tips and grinned when Dell fed the birds with him.

'Now that's one for the ages.'

Both Ryan men glanced over their shoulders to see Meredeth had come to join them on the stoop. 'Javi just called, they should be here soon.'

'Is my Tessi with you, Meredeth?'

'No, she's with her grandparents today, sweetie. But she says hi-hi, and wants to know what a 'tego' eats.'

'Tell her a tego eats watery puh-lants,' Dell said, then told his dad in his patient-teacher voice, 'Tessi likes the suh-tego-saurus in my dino book.'

'I see. Perhaps next time you see Tessi, it would be nice to read one of her books instead of trying to make her like all your things,' Ryan suggested. 'Not every little girl likes dinos, you know.'

'Okay, Daddy. Next time, she pick.'

'Are you giving your son dating tips on courting my daughter?' Meredeth teased, then saw the large cube van coming down the street followed by Esposito and Castle in the Nissan.

'That a big tuh-ruck,' Dell observed.

'Okay, Dell, you and I are going inside while the grown-ups start bringing things in,' Meredeth told him, holding out her hand for him to take and they walked to the elevators; she'd offered to be on Dell duty so he was both looked after and out of the way of the big people moving heavy things around. 'You excited to sleep in your new home tonight?'

'Uh-huh. I gonna help Mama with the baby's room.' Dell frowned. 'Meredeth, how you pick Tessi's name?'

'Javi and I traded ideas and we decided on some we liked and when Tessi was born we decided on the one we liked the best.'

'Huh. You know she was a girl before she came out?'

'No, we didn't. What's a name you like?'

'Mallory.'

'Mallory, that's a good one.' Meredeth picked him up so he was on her hip. 'What about if it's a boy?'

'I don' know. I really want a sister.'

'Fair enough.'

They stepped off the elevator together and went in the open door of 3C where the equally pregnant Honey-Milk and Beckett were putting away kitchen things. 'The truck's here, ladies,' Meredeth informed them. 'Where are we going to start while the guys are bringing up furniture?'

'Let's wait to see what they bring first, then we'll divide and conquer.'

It was a time-consuming and laborious process but somehow with the three men and Meredeth doing the heavy lifting they got the furniture into the apartment with little or no damage. The apartment was so much bigger than the other one, it felt like a mini-townhouse almost: it was still one floor but easily double the size of their last place, with a bigger living room and one bathroom off the kitchen. The bedrooms were a little more spread out, with the master bedroom and Dell's room on one side of the living room while the nursery and second bathroom were opposite it.

Once the beds and couches and tables were in, the troops split into their companies - Meredeth and Dell worked on getting his room and clothes set-up and organized while Honey-Milk worked on hers and Ryan's clothes, leaving Beckett in the nursery while the men each picked a room and worked on its furniture. In the baby's room, Beckett found herself making aw-faces at the tiny clothes she unpacked.

'I know it's so selfish of me, but I'm kinda glad we haven't had to go through this,' she told Castle, using her bump as a prop for the onsies and blankets she folded.

'What, moving?'

'Yeah.'

'You know if we had, they'd be doing this for us as well.'

'I know. It's why we love them.' Beckett finished folding a stack of washcloths and neatly placed them in the drawer labeled 'Towels & Washcloths.' 'So I was thinking it might be prudent to go through the nursery and take stock of what we need to get yet.'

'I know one thing coming up we're going to be doing that never fails to make a grown man squeamish.'

'Birthing classes?'

Castle tapped the tip of his nose. 'You know it.'

'Didn't you go through them with Evil Meredith?'

'Not exactly.' He tightened the last bolt on the crib frame and set it upright, then reached for the next piece he needed. 'Evil Meredith was going through a homeopathic phase when she was pregnant with Alexis. She started going to yoga and meditation classes and this quack who told her she could overcome the pain of childbirth by envisioning the red pain transforming into healing blue. What the hell does that even mean?'

'And what happened when she gave birth?'

'No drugs, and I'm scared shitless listening to her curse the quack and screaming at the doctor to get it out of her.' Castle laughed a little at the memory. 'She squeezed my hand so tightly, she gave me a hairline fracture in two of my fingers.'

'Wow. I'm asking for drugs, not to worry.'

'I know.' Castle didn't let on by a flicker of an eyelash how relieved that decision had made him. Like Ryan and Esposito, he teased his friends about being sucks around their women in the birthing rooms but he knew that even seeing Beckett cry over a memory or a sweet gesture like Alexis sending a 'just because i wanted to' e-card made him go on alert When crunch time came he wanted to be as supportive to his wife as possible and it was far easier for him to do so and keep his cool at the same time if he knew that she wasn't needlessly suffering because of some ridiculous notion that childbirth should be experienced without pain medication.

'What do you think of the name Tyson?'

'Tyson.'

'Yeah, for a boy.'

'Tyson Castle. Could work. Have we considered the idea of using your maiden-slash-professional name as the baby's name? Beckett Castle.'

'I did consider it, and Beckett sounds too hard for a little girl, and if it's a boy, I have horrible visions of him being bullied and being called Becky.'

'Oh, yeah. That's not cool, we don't want that.'

'Hey how's it going in here?' Esposito stuck his head in the nursery door and whistled in appreciation. 'Looking good, Castle,you know I think my boy Antonio's looking for an apprenctice.'

'Can I help you, Detective?'

'Yeah, Dell is napping in his room right now, so Mere is making a run to Geronimo's Sandwiches, you want anything?'

'Pork-loin Reuben, mustard on the side, rice chips and the fruit salad,' Beckett told him without missing a beat. 'Oh and a really big bottle of decaf iced tea.'

'Turkey club, extra mayo, same sides,' Castle added.

'Got it.'

Esposito disappeared, leaving Castle to eye up his bride. He loved every inch of her and now that she was seven months pregnant, there was definitely more of her to love. 'Remind me again what Phillips said about your weight gain?'

'I'm all healthy and I should be considered at this point about quality rather than quantity.'

'Okay then.'

Beckett nodded, then gripped the edge of the dresser as she felt a little lightheaded. 'Oh man, I need to sit down. I've been on my feet for most of today.'

'Why don't you have a rest in Honey-Milk and Ryan's room?'

'Okay. And then later, at home, maybe we can...' Beckett trailed off as she leaned in, then gave him some very naughty suggestions that had Castle tightening his grip on the screw-driver he held.

'Detective you are a very dirty girl.'

'And you love me for it.'

'Very much.'

They kissed, becoming so lost in the embrace that they broke apart only when they heard a little knock on the door.

'Ah-suh-cuse me.'

Castle glanced over, saw Dell there looking confused as he rubbed his eyes. 'Hey little bro, I thought you were napping.'

'I wanna come see my baby's room and help.'

'Oh, um...'

Beckett didn't know what to say, but fortunately was saved when Honey-Milk waddled in, looking very tired all of a sudden.

'Come on, big man, we're going to go and nap in Mama and Daddy's new room together, okay?'

'Uh-huh.'

Honey-Milk took her son by the hand and once again, the expectant parents were left to their own devices. 'Who's next, Tessi?' Beckett giggled.

When Meredeth returned with their snacks from the sandwich shop, the apartment was in good enough shape that Honey-Milk and Ryan could be left to their own devices of organizing and tidying things up. The Espositos departed for Spanish Harlem to pick up Tessi while the Beckett-Castles headed back downtown to SoHo; like the block of West-Twenty-Fifth Meredeth and Esposito lived on there was a subway station entrance at the end of the block near Ninth Avenue so worrying about his boss getting home in one piece was less stressful for Ryan.

'Man, both of you look like you're going to pop soon,' he commented, rubbing the belly where he saw the movement of the baby. 'I think they're already starting on the pool at the office for you.'

'Mm, so are the nurses at Saint V's. What is it about cops and medical workers they will gamble on anything?'

'It's in the blood, I think.'

'Speaking of which, Dell needs his needles.' Ryan kissed his wife, gave the belly one last stroke. 'Why don't you have a lie-down and I'll give him his insulin, and maybe we'll think about walking over to Roscoe's for ice-cream. It's within walking distance now, you know.'

Honey-Milk nodded, and went to rest on the bed which had been neatly made with their sheets. It felt so good to be home.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	32. Interlude: 31 Weeks

Beckett normally loved the blissful, post-shared-shower time with Castle, as it usually meant they would 'get up to the get-down' to borrow Meredeth's phrase, but while he remained dried off and comfortably naked on their bed, he'd insisted she model her dress for Robina and Gil's non-wedding ceremony, which had been delivered that afternoon a few hours before she'd clocked out from work for the day.

'Do I have to?'

'Be a brave soldier, Detective.'

Castle knew his Beckett was just belly-aching for the sake of form; she loved being as girly as the rest of them and understood because of her profession she tended to keep the feminine side of her buttoned up under that thick coat of armor. He sat on the edge of their bed and watched with delight as she stepped out of the ensuite to show off her new dress. It was a deep russet colour with an empire waist and soft, floating skirt that slipped over the head with a zipper up the side, a design which would be most comfortable for a woman seven and a half months pregnant.

'What do you think?'

'I think Robina's going to want to punch you because you look so beautiful at her wedding.' Castle stretched his legs, flopped over on his side on the bed. 'The bump looks like a little cranberry.'

'I don't think anything on me can be called 'little' anymore, Richard.' But there was a smile in her voice as she said it. 'You really think I'm still beautiful?'

'Always and forever. Even when you have horrible morning breath or Meredeth's triple-bean enchiladas give you gas.'

'They were so yummy, I couldn't resist.' Beckett walked over to his side of the bed, lifted her arms. 'A little help?'

'What's in it for me?'

'I'll bang your brains out the moment I'm naked.'

Castle reached out and lowered her zipper for her, then drew the hemline up from her knees into her hands. 'Since I did a little extra there, does that entitle me to the sex act and-or position of my choice?'

'Act, yes, position no. Given how big I am, there's only a couple that will actually feel good to me so I dont' want to say yes and then welsh on the bargain.'

Beckett pulled her dress over her head, and returned the dress to the hanger before stopping to stare at her body in the full-length mirror. She was no longer slim and lithe, she hadn't been since May, yet neither did she look like she was digesting a whole watermelon. She looked exactly like what she was - herself with a pregnant belly.

A pregnant belly, she noted, that was moving around like madness. She rubbed it gently and gasped in a little voice. 'Richard! I felt a foot against my hand!'

The pure delight on her face had Castle's heart spilling over with love as she walked towards him, took his hands to press them against her body. Sure enough about three inches above her navel he felt the tiny impression of a heel and a few toes. He laughed, moving his hands around the bump. 'Hey in there,' he said to her stomach, 'Mommy and I are very excited to see you, but now is not the time for a jailbreak. You still got a couple more weeks to go.'

'But Daddy, I want to go to the wedding too!'

'I know sweetheart but you are going to be there, just inside Mommy still, and that's probably a better deal because you'll get to eat what she eats, all that chicken and cake and fruit punch. That's definitely going to be way more delicious than six months of milk.'

'That is true,' Beckett agreed in her normal voice, then sat down on the bed beside her husband. 'Guess what Mommy's craving right now?'

She wiggled her eyebrows and Castle didn't need to be encouraged twice. He leaned in, kissed her deeply, his tongue nudging her lips apart. Her response was a sound somewhere between a squeak of delight and a sigh of pleasure, and putting his hand on the back of her neck Castle laid down with her on the bed. He paused when he felt her shudder, then gulped as he pulled back and saw the little traces of tears in her eyes.

'Kate, what is it? Did I hurt you?'

'No, you're wonderful, Rich. I just feel so horribly huge and I know the only reason you're having sex with me right now is to keep the big preggo happy.'

'Negative.'

'Come on, I've never been so big in my life.'

'Wrong-o. And I'm going to prove it to you.'

Castle nudged her to her back, rested on his knees between her feet which she'd planted on the bed. 'Let's start here. Long legs so silky smooth, they go for days, all the way up here,' he said, tracing his finger tips up her thigh to wear she wore adorably cotton-candy pink maternity panties that he tugged down her widened hips before running his palm back up the length of her thighs. 'And here, this nice little honey-spot where I've enjoyed many, _many_ mornings, afternoons and nights,' he continued, brushing his fingertips over her centre where she was already damp for him.

Beckett's thumped her head lightly against the mattress. 'Keep going.'

'And this, this beautiful, pure creamy skin protecting our baby-' Castle wrote the word 'love' with his index finger over the mound of their unborn child '-leading up to this beautiful glorious northern mountain range.'

He was now stretched out beside her, cupping her swollen breast in his palm and rubbing the nipple with the pad of his thumb; her moan was sweet and pure for him and it made his blood drain straight out of his head into his lap. 'And underneath that loving, tender heart you guard so carefully, that loves Alexis as if she'd come from you body and loves me even with all my insanity.'

Castle moved his hand up to her clavicle. 'These shoulders that are so strong to carry the burdens you do with such compassion it's staggering. But there's noting like this face. Strong, determined, I wouldn't be surprised if you had a little Russian or something in your ancestry. In a word gorgeous. But you're absolutely right. Why would I want to make love with all of that?'

'I love you, so much Rich,' Beckett murmured, and now it was her turn to pull him in for a kiss, sighing once more as he put his hands on her breasts. He brushed his thumbs over them and she groaned in deep satisfaction. 'I love you.'

'I love you too, Kate.'

He shifted so that he was lying beside her completely, with no risk of crushing the bump, and though it was slightly more awkward for him, he lowered his mouth to her breasts, rolling his tongue over the heated point of it; the move had Beckett seeing bright lights bursting behind her closed eyelids. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders in encouragement and deciding on the sex-act of his choice, moved his mouth downwards. He shifted his whole body for her once again so that he was trailing kisses up the insides of her thighs until he hit the honey-pot, making her gasp out his name as he tasted her, sweet and wet. He knew she was feeling very self-conscious about this particular move, because being so pregnant meant she couldn't see there well enough with her razor and waxing was out of the question because of the risk of the chemicals cause an allergic reaction. She'd been forced to enlist his help with such personal grooming and knew that by pleasuring her in such an intimate way as this it was an unspoken proof of his unwavering attraction to her.

Beckett swore she could feel her eyes cross as he used that clever tongue of his against her. Being pregnant had turned her into a superconductor for sexual desire and while there were days when she had zero energy to even flirt with her husband, it didn't stop the feeling or the fantasy of pinning him to the nearest flat surface - vertical or horizontal - and having her way with him. But this...this was better than just the animal release she wanted, this was love.

Then she lost all thoughts and forgot to breath a little when she felt his tongue spear inside her, making her choke and gasp as she clutched at the bed-sheets with a white-knuckle grip. She was reduced to mumbled vowels and half-words, and as the crest of the orgasm began to peak inside her, she felt his hand cover hers. She cried out she was coming, every nerve ending alight with equal parts lust and love for Castle.

When he lifted his head from his task, Castle could her lax, lush mouth smiling at him, her eyes dark and glittering with the need for him even more. He swiped the back of his hand over his mouth before he kissed her, murmuring in her ear, 'How do you want me inside you, Kate.'

'On top of me.'

'Okay.'

Castle reached over and grabbed the pillows off the head of the bed, helped her lift her hips so the angle was changed for her. He gripped her hips and eased himself inside, careful not to go to deep. When he heard her little 'uh-huh' he knew he'd reached his limit and began to move inside her, drawing out the pleasure as much as he could for her. More than anything, he loved watching her face, the flickers and gallops of what she felt all right there for him to see.

Beckett wanted to close her eyes in reflex to the sensations in her body, yet found they stayed locked on him as he stroked her. It felt more than a little slutty to leave her legs so wide open as they made love - she always liked to be wrapped around him when he was inside her - but leaving them like that alleviated some of the pressure she was always feeling on her back these days.

'Rich, I love you,' she murmured; it was her last coherent sentence as she felt the avalanche begin to tumble through her, then through him.

Drained, sated, Castle slipped out of his wife and turned her to her side so he was spooned up behind her. 'I love you Kate, and baby too,' he murmured, kissing her shoulder and watching the way her belly rippled with the baby's annoyance at how hard Castle had made the mother-to-be's heart pound. 'Sorry about that little bro or little sister, but you have to understand sometimes Mom and Dad need a little time just for them.'

'What Mama wants right now is a nap.'

'Understandable.'

'The book says I will feel tired a lot more easily now, so wake me up when dinner's ready.'

Since it barely took her five minutes to fall asleep now, Beckett was out like a light by the time Castle had found a pair of loose jeans and his ancient university pullover. He headed downstairs, remembering her request for a grilled cheese. He pulled out bread, cheddar, butter and was debating whether or not to add in some turkey bacon for good measure when the house-line rang.

'Hello.'

'Hey Rick, it's Meredeth.'

'Ah, good evening Missus Esposito. How is everything in Chelsea?'

'Wonderful, listen, I was wondering when you are planning your next cards night?'

'I have no idea, why'

'Well, Javi and I got to talking and thought it might be good for Beckett to have a little mini baby shower of sorts.'

'Oh, Mere, listen that's a lovely thought but she doesn't want one until after the baby gets here.'

'I know, but just hear me out.'

The steely determination in her voice reminded Castle of just how stubborn Meredeth could be and why she was a perfect fit for the equally stubborn Esposito. 'Okay, what are you thinking?'

'I think it might be helpful for Beckett to have a girls' night where she can just talk about anything and everything that's on her mind and not worry about it being to gross or disgusting you know? I know they encourage discussing things like that in your birth classes but those are total strangers. Honey-Milk, Lanie, Lili and I, we're her sisters and we want to make sure she knows how much she means to us.'

'Consider it done. How does next Wednesday sound?'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	33. Out in the Open

Honey-Milk eyed the spread of food on the island in Meredeth's kitchen as she walked around to stretched out the kinks in her back. It was their girls' night they'd planned mostly for Beckett; since she was the last one to join the mama-hood of their family Meredeth had decided to have them all over so that they could have an evening of talking about childbirth and pregnancy in a very frank and open way. She knew her friend had to have concerns or questions that only another woman who'd been through it herself could appreciate.

And Beckett was in luck, because she had four women who'd had five different birth experiences between them to give her all the help she could handle.

For Honey-Milk at the moment, however, it was her friend's amazing cooking keeping her at attention. There was a plate of fresh fruit and veggies with three kinds of dip, crackers and cheese, chocolate-chip oatmeal cookies and a spinach-cheese dip waiting to be heated and eaten with toast-points. She'd already made herself a little plate and was gnawing away on a hunk of celery with spicy ranch dressing.

'This tastes fantastic, Meredeth.'

'Pace yourself because we've also got these sweethearts.' Meredeth pulled out the night's main attraction, a hot pan of three-bean enchiladas and set all but three aside on a plate; the others she popped into a take-away container. 'Javi loves these and usually uses one as a peace-offering to your hubby.'

'Hubby,' Tessi repeated from her high-chair where she was finishing off her fresh berry salad and juice. 'Daddy hubby?'

'Yes, Tessi-boo, Daddy is my hubby.'

'Daddy home?'

'He's got out to play with his friends tonight, but he'll give you a kiss when he gets home.'

'Moosh.'

Honey-Milk chuckled, shook her head. 'My son. What is it about that word that stuck in all their minds so well?'

'Ma-my, dummy fo.' Tessi pushed her bowl away, patted her belly.

'You're sure?'

'Uh-huh.'

'Okay. Here.' Meredeth brought over a wash-cloth decorated with frogs and handed it to her daughter. 'What do we do when we're done eating?'

Fascinated, Honey-Milk watched the little girl put the cloth to her mouth and rub vigorously, then wiped her hands and clapped them together.

'Dean.'

'Okay.' Meredeth gave the toddler's face one more swipe and a kiss on the tip of her nose. 'Princess Tessi is all tidy.'

'No miss.'

'That's right, there's no mess.'

Arturo began to bark excited in the living room and was just able to make it to the door as Lanie and Lili walked in. The second-time mother was looking very glowing and happy while the petite Puerto-Rican's belly was in full bloom as well; at almost six months, Lili would be giving their family baby number eight just two months after six and seven arrived.

'Hey you big silly thing,' Lili crooned at the dog before coming belly-first into the kitchen. 'Smells good in here, _cunada_, you make enchiladas?' she asked as she began to load up a plate with healthy snacks.

'Three-bean, meat free so your brother can tempt my veggie-saurus husband when he's being a pest,' Honey-Milk said with a smile.

'Either way, it's delicious.'

'Dia Lili!' Tessi clapped her hands excited when she saw her aunt, and wiggled in her chair. 'Baby soon?'

'Yes, _cari_, the baby will be here soon.'

'Dell baby.' Tessi, whose high-chair was in arm's length of where Honey-Milk stood, reached out and brushed her little hand over Honey-Milk's belly. 'Dell baby.'

'Exactly, honey.' Lanie smiled, picked up a strawberry and dragged it through the dip. 'She's not going to be here and over-hearing what we talk about tonight with Beckett, right?'

'Oh, no, it's her bed time in like an hour anyways. God no, I don't want her hearing inappropriate things like that.'

Arturo, who'd once again become magnetized by Honey-Milk's pregnant belly, followed her out to the front door where the last of the ladies had arrived. Beckett was looking particularly blooming with her hair in a neat French braid off her face, a warm red turtleneck and slurpy jeans. Like the other two pregnant women, she'd zeroed right in on the snacks, digging into the cheese and crackers with abandon.

'Thanks for having us all over, Mere,' she said around a full mouth of cracked-wheat and edam. 'You do know how to spoil us rotten.'

'Truthfully, Kate, I invited all our mamas over here because I thought you could use a girls' night of just gabbing about all the stuff that would make our tough guys turn green in panic.'

Beckett chewed thoughtfully; she didn't always think of the men in her life as 'tough guys' but many would consider them just that - between the five of them, two had spouses who were cops, one a paramedic, one a soldier and the other a volunteer cop who was every bit as able to handle himself as the real ones he worked with. And they'd all been through childbirth with the women in this room, openly weeping with pride and joy when their children were born.

'So like what, birthing room stories, tips on doctor-baby daddy etiquette, things like that?'

'Sure, whatever you need. And don't be afraid to say I don't know or what does that mean. It's how we learn. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.'

'And don't worry if you think you're over-sharing or not.' Honey-Milk snagged a carrot, bit in with gusto. 'Amongst us, there's no such thing and here's why. When Mere and Javi were going through my birthing seminar, I borrowed with her permission Lanie and Dave's video of Carey's birth.'

'Wow.' Beckett blinked. 'You were cool with that?'

'Tessi was a big baby and I knew Lanie had had a big baby she delivered by pushing so I found it a great comfort, believe it or not.' Meredeth shrugged. 'Javi thought I was crazy but it really did make me feel better seeing my friend go through it and having another one as my instructor. So here's the plan. Once I take and put little princess to bed, we are going to be as open and frank and disgustingly detailed as you want, Beckett. Now who wants an enchilada?'

* * *

True to her word, Meredeth put Tessi to bed, which gave the girls time to move the food into the living room and find a spot most comfortable for their pre and post-natal behinds. Beckett took one of the chairs so she had room to stretch her legs out, and briefly wondered if she'd get stuck in it.

Lanie saw the look on her friend's face and giggled. 'I remember getting stuck in Ryan's desk chair, the one with the rolling feet, at the precinct.' Lanie shook her head. 'I felt absolutely huge in that moment.'

'I know, I remember needing Cam's help with tying my shoes and of course the classic shaving my legs and other parts,' Lili offered.

'You didn't feel really embarrassed by that, that your husband would see you so...unrefined?' Beckett asked, unable to fathom the seemingly impervious-to-negativity Lili so vulnerable.

'Cam and I have been through way too much together to think of that as such a monumental hurdle. When your husband the military soldier can barely walk a flight of stairs without breaking into a sweat from the effort, scraping off a little hair here and there is candy.'

'It's true. Javi did the same thing for me,' Meredeth added, reaching the bottom of the stairs with the baby monitor in hand. 'And we all know what my self-esteem was like when I was pregnant so if I could make it through that without convincing myself my husband saw nothing but a big pregnant blunderbus of a wife, anyone can.'

'Dave was a big help that way with both Carey and Violet, Violet especially, since I was bigger far more quickly with her.' Lanie sipped her tea, pondered the choice of goodies in front of her before choosing a few pieces of pineapple. 'And he told me it was also so oral sex when my hormones were going nuts would be enjoyable for the both of us.'

'You didn't worry that any of them wouldn't want to do that after the birth?' Beckett was sincerely amazed when they all shook their heads.

'Nope. I mean, you'll have to wait until the doc gives you the all-clear for sex again to do that particular trick but Javi and I do that just like we did before,' Meredeth told her matter-of-factly, pressing her lips together as she thought of how they had in fact done that together in the shower when her husband had gotten home from work and he was in the mood for a little lovin' before cards with the boys that night. 'Being romantic with your husband is one of the best ways for you and Castle to find that time that's just for you two once the baby's here. Even if it's just a nap and he's got his hands simply on your body, that touch and connection may seem incredibly simple but it does the job. One of my favourite things after Tessi was born was to have a nap with Javi and just feel him close to me. Then once I was back to myself a little more we amped it up a little at a time until we were back to our usual little busy-bunny selves.'

'Oh, and don't be surprised if while you're still nursing and your man gives you an orgasm if you leak a little milk. That one never gets mentioned a lot, but it happened more than once to me and Dave.' Lanie chuckled at the memory of the look on her husband's face when he'd gotten an extra surprise while they'd been fooling around.

'Thanks you guys. I didn't really mean for it to turn into a down-and-dirty talk about sex,' Beckett started, and was cut off when all the other women scoffed at her.

Honey-Milk waved it off. 'Please, it's why we had everyone here tonight, so you can talk about this stuff. It's important for a woman having her first baby to just let it all out and society has drilled it into our heads that once a woman becomes a mother she's just a mom who doesn't have the same needs her body did before.'

'Okay, then while we're in the subject of bodily functions, how am I going to know the difference between wetting my pants and my water breaking?' Beckett looked at Lanie, remembering that moment at Castle' poker night when Lanie had been ready to die of embarrassment.

'The smell, the amount and the feeling,' her friend replied, also thinking of that moment. 'It's not like a little bit of splash, it's the amniotic sac popping which has about forty-eight ounces in it give or take. You will feel like someone turned on a faucet.'

'It's like that feeling when you get your period of leaking, you know?' Meredeth remembered the sensation and being equally scared and thrilled. 'You also might go into labour before it actually breaks. I was having contractions for about three hours before mine went.'

'I was having them for about an hour or two before Dell as well.' Honey-Milk shifted as the baby tried to make itself more comfortable inside. 'Lili, what was it like when you had Rosie, the decision for the C-section?'

'I wish I could tell you, Jenny, but it's a bit of a blur. Keep in mind, I had to had to be put completely under because there were complications, plus mine wasn't a planned C-section. I'd just finished my birthing classes with Cam about three weeks before she was born and had every intention of pushing her into the world instead of her being cut out of me.'

'Oh, another thing.' Meredeth drained her glass. 'Make sure you and Castle do the massage of your downstairs area, make it a habit around now like brushing your teeth before bed or something, because that's what Javi and I did-'

'So did Dave and I,' Lanie interrupted.

'-And Tessi was a big baby, over eight pounds and I didn't need any cutting to widen-the-gap as it were.'

'What exactly is that?'

As Meredeth and the others explained it, talked about their own birthing stories, Beckett rubbed her hand over her belly and had never been more thankful for sisters in her life.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	34. Meanwhile in SoHo

'I'm in.'

'Call.'

'Call.'

Castle flipped the cards , which had Dave and Esposito tossing in their hands while Cam and Ryan stayed in. 'What you say there, shamrock you still in it?'

'Oh please shut him up,' Esposito told his partner as he selected a beer from the sideboard. 'Last thing I want tomorrow morning is hearing him brag how lunch is on him 'cause he took our money.'

'Like that matters a whit to you, you've got Meredeth cooking for you,' Dave pointed out, poking at his cell phone and wondering if it wouldn't be too soon to call the baby sitter. He'd volunteered himself to stay home so Lanie could go to Meredeth's but she'd been insistent that he have his fun too. 'I heard you guys are thinking of another one yourselves?'

Esposito nodded as he took his seat again. 'We want a bunch of them, like three or four and we want them close in age so we're thinking maybe after Christmas to start trying again. Tessi will be two in April so that's a good enough gap between her and the next sibling.'

'Wow, Tessi will be two. Hard to think of it, isn't it?' Cam debated his hand, tossed in a couple more chips for the pot. 'How about that, now Mister Fancy Writer-Man?'

'Call. Ryan?'

'Let's see it.'

Castle turned up the last two cards which had them both groaning as Ryan took the hand with a four-to-eight straight. 'I think you need to get your wife pregnant more, because the closer she is to her due date, the better luck you have at cards.'

'You're just getting nervous about Beckett being due soon, aren't you?'

'We've got over a month to go.'

'That's why I thought with Dell and he was early to the party.'

Cam drummed his fingers on his cane-head. 'Same as what I thought with Rosie. Babies do their thing in their own way man.'

'Well Harvey said that the baby is probably going to be overdue by a few days because he or she still has some moving into position to do.' Castle passed the deck to Dave for shuffling and got up for a drink himself. 'It makes me wonder if we really did get pregnant on the fourteen after all.'

'More than likely sperm and egg did their little dance on the fourteenth but it's possible the embryo itself didn't attach to the wall until a couple of days later,' Cam pointed out; being a triage nurse with his certification in OBGYN medicine, he knew the other men would defer to his expertise. Of course Esposito could always be counted on to be a wise-ass.

'I'm sorry is this cards or Lamaze?' Esposito teased his friends. 'I thought we were leaving the birth-class talk for the girls tonight.'

'Dare I remind you that when it was your turn to be in the daddy hot-seat we let you freak out as much as you want?' Ryan jibed right back with a friendly grin. 'Or me for that matter, even though that mostly consisted of scraping me off of the ceiling because I was worried about my wife being in pain.'

'Yeah, you've been surprisingly calm this time around,' Dave observed as he dealt the cards. 'What's up with that?'

'Jenny's having a planned C-section this time. Lots of drugs so she won't feel a thing because it's technically a surgical procedure.'

'Have you told Dell?'

Ryan nodded. 'I don't know if it's because of his own health and his experiences with doctors or that protective streak of his, but all he did when he explained the doctors would need to operate on Jenny to get the baby out was if they would give her medicine to make sure it didn't hurt and that doctor know best, that's why they're doctors.'

'Wow. That's amazingly mature for such a little guy.'

'The thing that has him most upset is the fact he wants to be in the room when the baby's born and obviously we can't let that happen.'

'He's going to be a baby-doc for sure,' Cam laughed, tossed his hand in. 'I'm out. Those kinda cards won't win anything for Rosie's little brother.'

'Have you guys picked out a name yet?' Esposito asked.

'We're thinking we want to name him after me and my father, since Rosie was named after Rosalita. But would he be a third since he'd be named George-Esposito?'

'Well wouldn't he technically be a junior?' Dave clarified.

'No, I'm the junior. Cameron Duncan George.'

'Well if he was born on May fourth, you could nickname him C-3PO,' Castle teased; he'd almost forgotten that there was actually three fathers to be at the card game that night, since Cam was such a quiet fellow. How the hell he'd wound up a custom fit to Esposito's bubbly baby sister was anyone's guess.

'Actually he'd be C-3DG,' he replied with a laugh. 'What about you, Castle, you and Kate decided on a girl name and a guy name?'

'You'll be happy to know if we have another daughter joining the Beckett-Castle clan she will not be named Frances Fargo.'

There was a collective sigh of relief, though Esposito made a small pouty face; he'd thought he'd done-good by giving a seal of approval to his friend on that one. 'What about a family name?'

'I liked Joanna Alexandra Castle, but my sweet little bride ruled that one in the maybe column.'

'You could call her Jax or Jackie or Jack...no that last one wouldn't work,' Dave decided, hearing it aloud and realizing the word-play was a rather bad joke.

'We still love that name, Joanna Alexandra, but we'd her Jojo for short, if we were so inclined.'

Ryan tossed his cards in, folding his hand. 'Why Alexandra?'

'On my birth certificate, my middle name is Alexander,' Castle explained, 'which I think subconsciously is where my first child's name came from. But we really like that name.'

'What about a boy?'

'Still up in the air.'

Esposito laughed. 'When Mere and I were picking names for Tessi, if she'd been a boy Mere wanted to name her Antonio after that dude from _Generation Kill_ because apparently I look like him.'

'Was the guy with the whole 'real story of Pocahontas' speech?' Ryan asked.

'Yeah, they all called him Poke.' Cam reached in his pants pocket, pulled out his daily dose of glucosamine in a small travel-size pill case. 'There are worse things to be named after, like my mother.'

They played a few more hands, debating names the entire time until Dave's cellphone rang and he excused himself to say goodnight to his son and daughter. Castle watched the striking Italian smiled as he promised Carey 'finch-toast' for breakfast the next morning and thought of all the man had been through in the last few years. A widower at the age of thirty-two, he'd moved to New York for a fresh start and a couple years after that met Lanie, now his wife and mother of his two children. It was possible, he thought, finding love and happiness and family when those things you thought you'd had were shattered. He'd wanted to be a family so badly with Evil Meredith and then she'd told him she was going on location for her latest project, leaving him to write and look after two-year-old Alexis. He'd wanted to fly out to California when he'd heard another man answer her home phone and instead she'd returned his call saying there was nothing to worry about, only to find a process server giving him divorce papers on his doorstep the next morning. Everything he'd wanted had been shattered with a single press of the doorbell. A few years later, he'd married Gina and that was more for himself than for Alexis, because he'd wanted something fun in his life and she'd seemed like the perfect fit. And once again, he'd discovered his concrete foundation was made of quicksand.

Then he'd been at his last Derrick Storm book-launch party and a beautiful woman with a truly awful haircut and Bambi-means-business eyes had flashed a badge in his face and said, _Detective Kate Beckett NYPD we need to ask you some questions about a homicide that took place earlier tonight_.

His life had never been the same.

'Castle, I know artists are supposed to be all broody and stuff, but think you could un-gloom to call or fold?'

He flicked his eyes over to Esposito and tossed in his cards. 'Not my round, boys.'

'Just as well. Clubs flush.'

The rest of them groaned as Ryan scooped in the chips with a wide grin. 'Guess you're right, that new baby luck is already starting to peak through.'

By the end of the night, Ryan and Cam had come out with the night's pot split between them, and when they parted ways Ryan caught a lift with Esposito to his place in Chelsea to meet his own pretty lady.

'I think this is going to be the start of the baby's college fund,' Ryan commented, thumb the fat stack of bills that were burning up his pocket. 'Maybe he or she can afford a can of soup with it in eighteen years.'

'Well Dell's smart enough, he's going to get a full-ride scholarship to like MIT or something.'

'I think you're the one who's going to wind up with a cop for a kid.'

'You think?'

Ryan nodded as they walked up the stairs to the front door. 'I see the way Tessi lights up around you and how proud she is when Meredeth says you're out catching the bad guys. It's in the blood, man.'

'Yeah well, then she'll have her own gun to shoot boys sniffing around her so I don't have to file paperwork on myself. Hey, we're home!' Esposito called out as they walked through the door.

In the living room, Meredeth glanced up from her laptop and smiled as Arturo raced over to greet them. 'How was poker night?'

'I won,' Ryan said, patting his chest where he'd tucked his winnings into his jacket pocket. 'Your man, not so much.'

'Aw, babe, want me to kiss it better?'

'Funny girl.' But Esposito went over and gave his wife a noisy, enthusiastic kiss. 'Later, without an audience,' he murmured jerking his head towards his partner.

'Yes, I already caught that show once and it was more than enough for two lifetimes.' Ryan smiled, crossed his arms. 'Did Jenny already go home?'

'She's upstairs napping in the guest room.'

Ryan took the stairs and smiled when he saw the green block letters on Tessi's door spelling her name, and the soft light coming from the cracks of the frame next to it. He shoved it open gently and sighed as only an expectant father could when he saw her all tuckered out and tucked in under the antique quilt. Pulling the cover back, he slipped in beside her and cuddled close.

'Hey honey.'

'Kev?' Her voice was sleepy and slurred. 'I don't wanna get up.'

'Then don't. You're still at Meredeth and Javi's but I'm sure they won't mind you sleeping over.'

'They're gonna do it,' she mumbled. 'They love sexin' each other up.'

'Good thing we're two rooms away then. Go back to sleep.'

They were both sound asleep, unaware of a single thing until Ryan felt a hand shaking his shoulder. Peeling open an eye, he saw his partner there, looking well-satisfied and dressed in his bathrobe.

'Dude, your sitter just called, wanted to know if you're going to pay her for overnight.'

'Oh, okay.' Dell looked at his wife, saw she was still fast asleep. 'You mind if I bring Dell here in the morning before shift so she can stay asleep? She's had some rough nights with the baby kicking her lately.'

'Sure, fine by me.'

Ryan kissed Honey-Milk's cheek. 'Jenny, I'm going home to look after Dell, you stay here with Mere and Javi and I'll bring Dell here in the morning, okay?'

'Okay. Love you.'

'Love you too.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	35. Breakfast & Bookies: 35 Weeks

The morning after Gil and Robina's 'wedding' was a beautiful October day. There was a light breeze in the air, the sky was blue with nary a cloud threatening the weather that had plagued them the previous week. The ceremony had been beautiful, Robina in a white evening gown and Gil in a pressed grey tux, Kelley and TJ in children's versions of their parents clothes. They'd all stayed up and partied their butts off; because she had less than a month to go, Beckett had gone to bed in her hotel room around eleven while the party had continued on in the ballroom and she rested for the sake of her unborn baby.

That was, until Castle came to bed and then she hadn't mind being woken up, even if the little one did.

Now it was morning and time breakfast, a very important one at that: it was October nineteenth, they were at exactly one calendar month before both were set to pop, and in Beckett's eyes, Ryan wasn't the only over-the-top daddy-to-be at the Twelfth anymore.

'Are you sure you're feeling okay, honey? You said last night you were a little tired,' Castle commented as they rode in the elevator to the hotel restaurant to meet Honey-Milk, Ryan and Dell for breakfast. 'You want any tea or juice when we sit down?'

'Richard Castle, I do believe you are turning into a nervous wreck on me. I've seen you face down career criminals with more confidence,' she giggled.

'Yeah, cause the worst they'd do is kill me. You are capable of so much more.'

'This is true.'

The lift came to a stop and Castle popped out the door, holding his hand out for Beckett, who was going everywhere belly first these days. Taking Beckett's arm and looping it through his they walked into the bistro where the Ryans were already waiting for them, Dell sitting patiently beside his mother. The pretty nurse was looking just as puffy and pregnant as Beckett felt.

'Hey guys,' Ryan smiled. 'Beckett how are you feeling?'

'Enormous.'

'You look lovely.' The truth was she did, with the russet colour dress accenting the wonderful translucent quality all pregnant women seemed to have in the end stages. 'Okay, you guys are here now, which means I can go take a leak.'

'Daddy, that is not nice to say,' Dell teased him, and got his hair ruffled for his trouble. 'No! You gonna mess it up!'

'Dell you need to go before we eat?'

The boy nodded and went off with his dad; Castle wondered if either knew they walked the exactly same way.

'He is his father's son,' Honey-Milk sighed lovingly as they dodged the other patrons of the restaurant, rubbing her hands over her belly. 'Not long to go now, is it?'

'Nope.'

'I'm so sorry I haven't been able to run your birth class, how is it going with Amelia?'

Beckett gave her friend a look. 'Jenny, in all that lovely girl-talk we had a few weeks ago, why did none of you mention that during the birth my bowels are probably going to freak out and unload on the birthing table or bed?'

'Because most of the time when you are in labour you don't know that it's happening. You're using all those muscles and compressing your lower abdomen that it's gotta go somewhere and it usually escapes onto the

'But wouldn't you be able to tell from the smell in the room?'

'Trust me, the only thin you can concentrate on is, get this thing out of me.'

'What about you, you have to be getting antsy with the date of the C-section drawing near,' Castle commented as he flagged down a waiter.

'It's getting to be that way. Harvey has me scheduled for the fourth of December.'

'But I thought you and I had the same due date?' Beckett asked, concern winding in her gut.

'We do, but based on my last check-up Harvey thinks that a C-section might not be as necessary as we previously thought. The baby's weight gain has leveled out so he's thinking I might be able to have a vaginal birth after all and has the surgery planned as a back up. If I haven't had gone into labour by the second, he is going ahead with the planned C-section.'

'And let's say your water breaks on the twenty-eighth of November, what then?'

'He'll do his best to give me a natural birth and use a C-section as a last resort,' Honey-Milk said matter-of-factly, in such a way that both Beckett and Castle stared at her like she'd done lost her marbles one-hundred percent.

'Jenny, I-'

'Look Mama, I wash my hands!' Dell raced back over to the table with Ryan following two steps behind. 'Now we can eat?'

'Yes.'

They ordered the family style breakfast - bacon, fruit, pancakes, eggs Florentine for Ryan and homefries - and knew despite the large amount of food that would be present on the table none of it would go to waste. Both grown men eyed their women as carefully as lions stalking their prey, watching and waiting for any little cough burp or spasm that mind indicate the baby was about to make an appearance.

'Mama,' Dell asked as he ate his pancakes and strawberries. 'You feeling okay? Baby not comin' yet?'

'No, sweetie.

'Oh.' Dell chewed down a few bites, then turned his big blue eyes to Beckett. 'Are you feeling okay, Katie? Your baby is suh-till suh-tayin' cozy inside too?'

'Yes.' Beckett had to laugh a little at the boy's frowny-face as he dug into his pancakes again. 'Something wrong, big guy?'

'I wanna win the baby suh-wimmin' pool.'

At this Castle let out a hearty chuckle. 'Dell, you meant to say you have money in the baby pool on when your brother or sister will get here?'

'Daddy said I could put a dollar in the jar at Mama's work and his work too.' He poked a strawberry like it was an alien life-form. 'And I wanna win.'

'What are you going to do with that money if you do?'

'Buy birthday puh-resents for the new baby.'

Beckett sipped her tea, smiled at him. 'I'm sure you'll buy something for your new brother or sister either way,' she told him warmly, but the comment had her thinking. Her boys wouldn't do that to her, would they? Turn her baby into a pay-day? Of course they would, she thought, they'd done it to everyone else so why would she be safe from it?

Castle saw the way she'd gone quiet but let it go until they were back home after wishing the bride and groom well when they'd come down from their honey-moon suite for food as well. By the time they got in the front door, he was ready to go back to sleep and wasn't at all surprised when Beckett simply laid down on the bed fully-clothed and sighed contentedly.

'It was a lovely day, wasn't it?'

'It was,' he agreed, staying close so he could put his hand on her belly. 'How the bump?'

'Snoozing, he or she has a fully tummy like Mama now. Hey Castle?'

'Yeah.'

'Don't let the guys go too silly with betting on our baby's birthday, okay?'

Castle squirmed a little, thought of the notes in his little black book, the envelope of cash hidden in his desk drawer where she assumed he kept his stash of writer's-block porn. 'I have no idea what you're talking about.'

'Oh come on Castle, you had half the homicide floor taking bets on the Cosway-Anderson case, not to mention the fact that you were the one running book on all our other Twelfth precinct babies now.'

'That's not true, I don't have one going for Honey-Milk and Ryan right now.'

'Yeah because it's a gimme, Castle. She's having a C-section, so we know when it's going to be born.'

'Not necessarily, she thinks she might have a push-birth now.' Castle made a mental note to spread the word and place a few bets. 'And besides, whatever money I collect and give to the lucky winner, I match that in a gift to the parents in the form of seed money for a college fund.'

'You do?' Beckett blinked. 'I didn't know that.'

'I was going to surprise you when our baby was born but you, as per us Debbie Downer, ruined my fun,' he teased her.

The house-line phone rang then and Castle twisted, picked it up. 'Richard's Horse and Baby Betting.'

'Yeah, put me down for fifty, a boy on the twenty-ninth of November.'

'Hey, Alexis!' Castle grinned when he heard his daughter's voice and put her on speaker phone; the handset rested on the pillow beside Beckett's nose. 'How's things in London?'

'Excellent, I survived my organic chemistry mid-term and came out a winner on the other side.'

'Oh, I'm so glad to hear that, I knew how stressed you were over that one.'

'Also, I wanted to call and let you know I have my exam schedule, I'm done on the twenty-sixth of November.'

'Why so early?'

'Because since I'm an upper-year, we have less weight on exams, more on our clinical work so the big stuff is all due by like November twentieth and our exams are like a small summative test. And because I did that extra clinical rotation back in April it means I'm a course ahead right now so I only have five instead of six to prepare for.'

'That's good news.'

Alexis' voice changed tones from happy relief to wistful sadness. 'Yeah but that means I'm not going to be here when the baby's born.'

'That might not be true, Lexie,' Though she was near sleep, Beckett found the energy to correct her. 'Phillips thinks that the baby is going to be at least a week overdue.'

'Yeah?'

'Yeah, it hasn't even dropped yet, and it needs to do that about four weeks or so before it's born. You may be getting picked up at the airport by a driver and going right to the hospital.'

'Oh, like in the movies,' Alexis sighed romantically. 'That'd be a good one for in the Nikki Heat books. Heat gets back from a big international case only to be met at the airport by Rook because Ochoa and Maggie are having their baby.'

'And here I am thinking I was in charge of the Nikki Heat canon,' Castle teased his daughter, filing away her idea for a later time. 'Are you at home or on campus right now?'

'At home. We're about to review our lectures from last week to start getting exam notes prepared. Oh and guess who I ran into on campus on Friday?'

'Helena Bonham Carter?'

'JP. He bought me a cup of tea at this little hot-drinks bar in my clinical studies building and told me he was so sorry for the way things ended and he wanted me to give him another chance, that he was over the other girl.'

Now Beckett was wide awake, at least momentarily. She was hoping Alexis would have the chance to confront the little bastard who'd broken her heart and wanted to hear every details of the encounter. 'What did you say?'

'That he had as much chance of winning me back as he did of spontaneously sprouting wings and flying back to Venice with Falcor the Luck-Dragon, but thanks for the beverage and I hope I never see you again.'

'That's my girl,' Castle and Beckett chorused, making Alexis laugh.

'Thanks you guys. I have to run, but I'll email you later okay? Give my love to the baby and I'll talk soon.'

Castle hung up the phone, not at all surprised that Beckett had drifted off to sleep so quickly, and smiled as he spoke to the belly. 'She's so excited about being here for the birth, so maybe you could hang out in there a little while longer so your big sister can see you when you're born, okay?'

He felt the little nudge under his palm and nodded. 'Deal.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	36. Freaky Friday: 37 Weeks

It was Hallowe'en night, and like many others in the city tonight, every little squeak, creak and other unnatural noise was making Ryan jump out of his skin, but for different reasons than thinking the undead was out for his sweet Irish blood. Honey-Milk was less than a month from her due date and despite Harvey's assurances the baby wouldn't be early like Dell had been, Ryan couldn't help feeling a little antsy. So instead he tried to occupy himself with party-night. Castle hadn't gone for a specific theme this year but the children old enough to trick-or-treat had: Dell had suggested that since there was five of them, they could all dress up as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles plus an April O'Neil. Since it meant little effort on costume co-ordination or inspiration, the parents had jumped at it.

'Kev?'

'Yeah.'

'A little help?'

Ryan, dressed as the Riddler from the Adam West Batman series, stood up from the kitchen table where he was painting Dell's face to follow the sound of his bride's voice from the bathroom. He walked in, saw her face peaking around the edge of the shower curtain, her hair in dry and piled on top of her head with some kind of clip. She had a slightly embarrassed look on her face and bubble bath foam around her breasts.

'Oh, honey, are you stuck?' Ryan tried not to laugh, knowing that she could probably crush him like a bug if she sat on his chest.

'Not stuck, just want some help so I don't risk slipping. I drained the tub already so I only need a hand up.'

'You got it.'

Ryan shoved the curtain back, helped her steady her balance as she stepped out of the tub. 'You want a hand drying off?'

'No thanks, Kev. You patting me down will just give me ideas and I don't want to be late for Castle's party.'

'Fair enough. You want a hand with-'

'Kevin, enough!' Honey-Milk snapped, then sighed. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell, I just don't want to be fussed over right now.'

'Understood. You need any help getting dressed?'

'I'm good, thanks honey. I'm puffed up and pregnant and sweating my wide-load buns off even though it's October thirtieth but my costume I can manage.'

'Hey.' Ryan took her face in his hands, kissed her reassuringly. 'I love you Jennifer Agatha.'

'I love you right back, Kevin Thomas.'

'Daddy!' Dell hollered from the kitchen. 'Mama is okay?'

'Indoor voice and yes, she's fine,' Ryan replied, patience straining as he returned to his son in the kitchen where Dell was swinging his legs patiently as he sat waiting on the chair. 'She's just getting a little cranky because it's almost time for the baby to be born.'

'Why she cuh-ranky?'

'You know how antsy you get when you have to eat your broccoli and there's only a few more bites before dessert, and you're sick of broccoli but you have to eat them to get your sugar-free treats? That's what Mama's feeling right now.'

'Oh. That is not very fun.'

'No.'

'She should have ice cuh-ream now,' Dell decided. 'I share my tuh-reats with Mama.'

'I'm sure she'll appreciate that. There.' Ryan set aside the Hallowe'en makeup kit and held up the mirror so Dell could inspect his handiwork. 'How does that look?'

'I'm a Ninja Turtle. Tessi gonna love me.'

'I'm sure she already does.'

'Okay boys, what do you think?'

Both Ryan men turned to see Honey-Milk in bloodied scrubs with a black pointed hat on her head; the ensemble made her son scoff a little. 'Those are your work cuh-lothes, Mama.'

'I'm a witch-doctor, honey.'

'Oh. Okay. I gonna go find my shell and my suh-taff.'

Ryan stood up once more, pressed his hands to his wife's pregnant belly. 'This little party-goer going to make an appearance soon?'

'Nope. Not even feeling close to it. But keep this up-' she gestured to him with a mischievous smile '-and you'll get to keep that Freaked-Out Daddy blue ribbon you've held since Dell was born.'

'I didn't realize our stork-derby had prizes like that.'

'Mm-hmm.' Honey-Milk checked her camera battery, her purse for her cellphone. 'Let's see, Javi gets the Bravest First-Timer because he didn't lose his cool once when we nearly did an emergency C-section on Meredeth right in front of him, Meredeth gets Biggest Girl Baby and Longest Labour, I have First Natural Birth, Lanie gets Biggest Boy Baby and Biggest Baby In General and Beckett gets the Tortoise Prize.'

Ryan laughed. 'The Tortoise Prize?'

'Yeah, because she's the last one to cross the finish line.'

'Daddy, I need some help, puh-lease!'

Dell wandered out from his room, his bo-staff in hand and the plastic turtle shell hooked over one shoulder. 'I can' reach.'

'Sure.' Ryan adjusted the costume for him, then flicked a fingertip down his nose. 'My little hero in a half-shell.'

'Turtle power!' Dell finished. 'Okay, time for Tessi and tuh-rick-or-tuh-reatin'!'

* * *

They got to Castle's with minimal scrapes to Ryan's already-fraying nerves - a pregnant wife and a four-year-old looking forward to candy, though, would make anyone a little nuts. When they arrived at the SoHo loft, Ryan gave his wife a kiss as she went with Dell and the other young-ones on the candy-quest, then made a beeline straight for the bar.

'Can I get a double whiskey neat?' he told the bartender.

'Riddle me this, riddle me that, who's afraid of the big pregnant lady with the scary hormones?'

Ryan turned around, blinked extra hard. 'Javi?'

His partner was dressed in tight black leather head to foot and was sporting some wicked facial hair along with three eight-inch claws on each hand. 'Tonight it's Wolverine.'

'Let me guess, Meredeth is Mystique?'

'Jean Grey, and she went on the trick-or-treating circuit with Tessi.'

'Jean Grey never hooked up with Wolverine, it was always an unrequited love on his part.'

'That's why the reality is better than the fantasy for me,' Esposito took the beer from the bartender, tossed him a decent tip.

'You two just love being all couply, even with an eighteen month old, don't you,' Ryan muttered, then slurped down nearly half the contents of the whiskey-glass the bartender passed him.

'You okay?'

'I'm starting to freak out again,' he muttered. 'I thought I'd be cooler this time around but looks like no such luck. I'm still on edge thinking every cough or burp is it.'

'You've got Dell needing you now, that's got to help split your focus, give you something concrete to focus on.'

'It does a little but half the time he's just as emotional as my wife is.' Ryan swirled whiskey in his glass. 'At least you're not going through this for a little while yet.'

'Actually...' Esposito scratched the back of his neck. 'We're trying again.'

Now Ryan's irritation vanished. It had been great fun to see his partner, the Maverick to his Goose, go through being a first-time father and now to watch him possibly go through it again was another golden opportunity. 'That's fantastic man.'

'We want a big family and our kids close.'

'You just wanna see Mere's boobs get bigger again, don't you?'

Esposito's grin was part lascivious, part sheepish. 'I can't help it if my wife is built like an Amazon.'

The door opened and the five little ones of various sizes all clambered in with the parents behind them - Dell as Donatello, Rosie as Raphael, Kelley as Leonardo, and Carey as Michelangelo, and Tessi, the youngest in the quintet, in a yellow jump-suit with little white knee-high boots as April O'Neil.

Across the room, Castle had seen their return and excused himself from talking to Beckett and Lanie to greet the trick-or-treaters warmly, took them over to the little table he'd had set up just for them to dump out their loot. 'What's the haul lookin' like this year?'

'Yummy yummy goodies,' Rosie said with a smile that matched her mother's.

'I got the suh-pecial kind. No sugar for me,' Dell added with a nod as his mother came up beside him. 'Mama, you look tired. Go sit down.'

'Hey Dell,' Castle asked, helping them poured the contents of their treat-buckets and sacks into bowls far easier to inspect. 'How did Tessi score getting to dress up as April when there's three girls?'

'Misser Castle, her birthday is in A-puh-ril,' Dell explained patiently; sometimes grown-ups just didn't get it.

'Makes perfect sense,' he laughed.

'Okay, picture time.' Beckett, who'd used her bump to her advantage and found an Ursula the Sea-Witch costume, wandered over with her camera and got Meredeth to line the kids up so all the parents could take shots of their precious tykes in their get-ups. 'Okay looks good guys, now time to get changed.'

'We hafta?' Carey asked.

'Well you can leave your costume on, but then you don't get to enjoy your mini Oh-Henrys,' Beckett bargained.

'I shange.'

The little ones handled, Castle turned to Beckett, gave her a kiss. 'Nicely played, Detective. You'll be a great mom.'

'Yeah, they're all cute like that once they're outside the womb,' Honey-Milk groused as she shifted on her feet. This baby was not playing nearly as nicely as Dell had late in the game and even standing perfectly still was making her agitated. 'I need to go sit down. My hubby ran off to be a little boy for the night with his partner so I'm left on my own for the moment, it seems.'

'Now what little boy doesn't want to be a Batman villain?'

Honey-Milk turned around; Ryan was there with a smile on his face for his girl which made her feel more than a little guilty for badmouthing him. She leaned in, gave him a kiss. 'Thank you for being so patient with me tonight,' she murmured in his ear. 'I know I've been nasty the last week or so, but I just want the baby to get here.'

'I know, honey. And feel free to use me for target practice.' He ran his hand over her shoulder. 'You thirsty?'

'Always.'

'I'll grab you a soft drink, why don't you snag a table.' Castle looked down when he felt the small hand patting at his knee and saw Dell there. 'What's up, Donatello?'

'Misser Castle, is there any buh-roccoli?'

'Broccoli,' he repeated and Dell nodded.

'I think we can find something.' Holding out her hand, Beckett took Dell over to the buffet and he zeroed in on the plate of veggies and dip. She passed him a stalk in a napkin. 'What are you needing it for?'

'Mama. Thank you, Detective.'

Treasure hot in his hand, Dell wove his way around the forest of grown-up legs until he found his mother and father sitting together at one of the tables. 'Mama, here,' he said, passing her the vegetable. 'You can have your ice -cuh-ream soon.'

Honey-Milk accepted the treat from her son with a kiss, examined it with confusion. 'Why is my son giving me broccoli? Kevin?' she asked when her husband started to laugh, shoulders shaking uncontrollably. 'What did you do?'

'I may have said that right now you're feeling the same way he does when he has to finish his broccoli before dessert.'

'Oh.' Honey-Milk's heart melted a little. 'Such a sweetie-pie. What would I do without you two?'

'Mama, eat your veggies,' Dell prodded the bite of vegetable towards his mother, stared her down with hands on hips. 'They are good for you.'

'Yes they are,' she agreed and popped it in her mouth. It didn't mingle at all with the flavour of Diet Coke but she knew it would satisfy her little man. 'There, happy?'

'Uh-huh.' Dell turned to leave but Ryan caught him around the waist, making him giggle. 'Daddy, leggo. Mama ate her buh-roccoli, now she gets to have dessert.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	37. Maternity Leave Murder Boards

It felt more than a little weird to Beckett to be working at her desk and knowing that she wouldn't be back the next day or the day after that. She wouldn't be back on the beat, as it were, after this day for eight months. The notion made her itchy; she was a cop, she'd always been a cop in her adult professional life.

It wasn't like she was quitting and going to be spending that time doing nothing, she reminded herself, feeling a gentle prod near her navel and instinctively ran her hand over the belly. 'I know, tiny, almost your birthday isn't it?' she murmured as she went over the reports that needed to be filed before she went on leave. 'You've still got a little while to go.'

'I'm hoping this one is born the twenty-fourth.'

Beckett glanced up, saw Esposito there with a mug of steamed milk for her, sweetened with vanilla syrup. 'So glad you're thrilled about making some extra cash while I'm grunting and sweating through childbirth.'

'Nah, I was just thinking I could give some of it to Meredeth and then she can whip up a bunch of ready-to-eat meals when you've got the new little one first home from the hospital.'

'Okay, that's kind of awesome so you're forgiven. You know what I'm having too?'

'A boy, about seven and a half pounds, and you'll name him Javier Alexander Ryan Castle,' he said with a cheeky grin, pulling up a seat in Castle's chair; the man himself was working at home with the promise of picking her up when she was off-shift.

'How about you save the naming for your next one.' Beckett sipped, returned his grin when he blushed a little.

'Nothing stays secret around here, does it?'

'Not exactly. Is Ryan going to get a look at the 'making-of' featurette on the baby sequel? Where is he anyways?'

'Baby-doc's with Jenny and I hope not, otherwise I may send him to Meredeth's shrink.'

'Do you ever get nervous?' Beckett asked him, glad to have a friend to talk to. She was close to both of them but for whatever reason, after Castle and her father the go-to man for her to talk about things, especially cop-family balancing things was Esposito. Maybe it was because she'd always considered him a family man without the wife and kids already, even more than his partner. Or maybe because despite his cocky exterior, there was a solid stubborn core that reminded her so much of her own father. 'That when you go into a building or on a raid you'll get shot again?'

'Yes and no, I mean that risk is always there and Meredeth knows it, but...' Esposito squirmed a little. 'We have our own little good-luck code.'

'You do?'

He nodded, drank his coffee. 'Every time I leave for a call or for a regular morning, even going for a court appearance, I tell her 'gimme one for good luck' and she kisses me, and if I forgot that one morning, I'd feel as naked as if I didn't have my gun. Love from your wife, or your husband,' he said, gesturing to her, 'that's a powerful weapon. Maybe you can't nail a scumbag crook between the eyes with it like a shot from a SWAT rifle, but it's a mental confidence thing. I press my lips together, I think of her and Tessi, and I know I'll make it home safely.'

'That's so sweet.'

'Don't tell Ryan.'

Beckett laughed in agreement, then winced a little. 'Yes, I know your there,' she told the bump, looking down at where it rested fully on her lap now. The baby had finally dropped so breathing had become far easier in the last few days. 'We're talking about you, and yes it's almost home-time. Here.' She tapped a few buttons on the blue-tooth watch for her iBump. 'There, _The Nutcracker_, it's one of your favourites. Go nuts, tiny.'

'Already such a mom.'

Beckett glanced up, smiled at her husband, who'd magically appeared at her desk. 'Hey, I didn't even hear you.'

'I'm sneaky that way. I've got Mother at home babysitting dinner, which is Meredeth's pizza, and Alexis texting me every half an hour reminding me to put her on Skype when you get home. You ready to go?'

'Uh-huh.' Beckett braced her weight on her desk, let him help her with her coat. She looked at her space in the bullpen and sighed wistfully. 'Bye desk.'

'I'll keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble.' Esposito assured her, glanced over as the captain walked out of the break-room with his quarter-past coffee. 'Right, sir?'

'I have no idea what you're talking about and I learned long ago from Liz that blindly agreeing like that is never a good idea.' Montgomery set his cup down, and despite the fact they were in the middle of their place of business, gave Beckett a quick, warm squeeze. 'You take care of yourself now, Beckett. You need to make sure our new rookie stays nice and healthy until the twenty-eighth.'

'Sir? You're in on it too?' Beckett's jaw dropped.

'Of course. Who do you think cleaned up when Lanie had Violet?' he replied with a wink.

It had Beckett shaking her head all the way to the loft. 'So, how has your day been?'

'Busy. Like I said, I've been working on a surprise for you.'

Curiosity piqued, Beckett let him open the door for her and they walked inside, where Martha was sitting on the couch with a small glass of wine as she watched some old black and white movie. 'There's my girl,' she declared, pausing the disc when she saw her son and daughter-in-law coming through the door. 'Not long now, is it sweetheart?'

'Today's the ninth.'

'Ten days.' Martha beamed with pride at the knowledge she'd soon have another grand-baby. 'Are you feeling alright?'

'Tired, hungry, huge. Seems to be the pregnant hat-trick.' Beckett went over to the couch to take a load off her aching feet and back, and much to her own surprise, scooted down so she could leaned her head against Martha's narrow shoulder. 'But right now mostly hungry.'

'Well you're in luck because Meredeth cooked tonight, so to say. And there are green things on your pizza but there are also animals there as well. Or rather, various forms of pig meat.'

'See Castle?' Beckett craned her neck to look up at her husband. 'That's how you do it.'

Castle merely shook his head and went over to the stove, checked on the bubbling pie. A few more minutes, he thought, just enough time to give him his wife's present. It had taken him some patience and work and timing to keep it under his hat but he knew his girl would absolutely love this. 'Mother, a little help?' he asked. 'I need you to get my laptop and dial up Alexis on Skype.'

'Alright, but if you wind up with a Shanghai prostitute on the line, don't blame me.'

Beckett straightened herself up, curious as to what this little family of hers had planned. Her curiosity went over the top when Castle dragged his mobile Smart-Board out into the living room, Martha following with the laptop; clearly she must have gotten it right as she was chatting away to her granddaughter about the latest rehearsal for her play.

'Kate are you there?' Alexis' voice came from the computer speakers.

'Yes, I am.'

'Turn me around Grams.'

'My, my, what a bossy lady you are.' But Martha obliged her and put the laptop on the coffee table so that the detective and the writer were both in view. 'Now, what is this all about, Richard?'

'Okay, back we got married, I knew that when it came time for us to have babies and you'd be on your maternity leave, you'd go a little squirrelly if you didn't have some cases to work on, and when I was talking about it with Alexis, she came up with this idea, so...ta-da!'

He switched on the board with a flourish and instantly the image of a stork in an isosceles stance with a weapon in his feathers came on screen. Underneath were the words 'The Mat-Leave Mysteries' and an oblong button that said 'click to start'.

'What is this?'

'It's like Choose Your Own Adventure, only with a cop twist,' Alexis explained from the computer. 'You've still got all your murder cases to work on, just fictional ones. Dad wrote the stories, and he talked to his connections with the people at 4-D Animation who did the Nikki Heat video game, got them to come up with the graphics for you.'

'Is that what you were doing when you said you were working on a short-story collection?' Beckett asked excitedly and Castle nodded.

'I'd been thinking about doing a pre-Rook case-files series and decided to use those cases here. All the players are there, Heat, Roach, Lauren Perry, Montrose.'

'No Rook, no Maggie not even Scout or Calvin?' she asked, referring to the alter-egos of Meredeth, Honey-Milk and Dave.

'Nope, just the Fab Five. Here.' He passed her the hand-held tablet companion to the Smart-board and its stylus. 'You can control it from there. Far more comfy than being on your feet or sitting on your desk.'

'You like it?' Alexis asked.

'It's amazing, I truly have no idea what to say.'

'I'll take that as a yes. I've got finals to study for tomorrow and I need sleep so love you guys!'

Alexis' connection drop, leaving just the three of them in the apartment. 'I think I'll check on dinner and leave you two to play,' Martha decided.

'So you have three options. Revisit a cold-case, fresh body, or tag-team with the FBI.'

'Fresh body, haven't seen one in awhile.' Beyond impressed, Beckett used the stylus on the tablet and followed the on-screen instructions as her husband sat down beside her. She selected the 'Fresh Body' and the screen at once changed to a short little animated video of her fictional self walking in the bullpen towards the elevator and pushing the button.

_That was Roach, there's been a murder._

The animated character looked over its shoulder and gave the viewers a look. _Well, are you coming or what?_

_'_I remember that day,' Beckett said. 'That was after the switched-babies case, we were in the apartment building lobby and the captain had just told me you were doing three more Nikki Heat books.'

'I remember well,' Castle agreed, putting his arm over her shoulders. 'It was one of my favourite moments between us.'

She laughed, then focused on the screen as she saw the purple-faced woman in a lady-suit, legs at odd angles and missing a high-heeled shoe. Then she laughed again, when she head a familiar pair of voices.

_Who's the tag-along?_

_Must be the new guy_.

'When did they have time for this?' she asked.

'Here and there. It's been in the works for almost two years now. Keep watching.'

Beckett did so as Roach gave them the bullet, then giggled at the options popped up again

_So what you wanna us to do?_ the screen asked, _talk to witnesses, goose CSU, start the paper trail_

'See you give them a task, then you'll get one for yourself,' Castle explained, loving how into it she was getting. 'But depending on what you give the boys to do determines what you get to do.'

Beckett decided to have Roach talk to witnesses, and suddenly on-screen Nikki was in the morgue, the lady from the alley under a sheet. Then came another familiar voice.

_Girl, please tell me you didn't bring your date here to scare 'em off._

'Lanie too?' she asked a note of surprise in her voice.

'That one was the easiest after she went on maternity leave, believe it or not. She just brought Carey with her.'

Beckett grinned as her avatar listened to the ME's initial report and the real-life one kissed her husband. 'Best baby-gift ever.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	38. Mom & Dad Only: 39 Weeks

'Do you have any...threes?'

'Nope, go fish Mama.'

Honey-Milk picked up a card off the pile in the middle of her bed, added it to her hand. Her son, it seemed, was turning into quite the little card-shark. 'My turn. Do you have any...kings?'

'Uh-huh.'

Dell passed over the card and Honey-Milk rubbed her belly where she felt an impatient nudge from the baby. It was less than a week until her predicted due date, and could now appreciate a little better the hell Meredeth had gone through when Tessi had been over a week late. Every day she was praying that she would feel routine contractions begin without her water breaking so that her husband would take her to the hospital and he would help her welcome their baby into the world. Of course, she couldn't really complain since she was still five days shy of the nineteenth and Meredeth had delivered nine days after her due date.

Adjusting her position, Honey-Milk sat up so she was propped against the head-board. The movement had a little pressure lifting off her belly and her stomach gurgling. Though she knew her husband would be home soon and making dinner tonight, since it was his turn, she still was hitting the same cravings she'd had with Dell towards the end of her pregnancy - pizza and fruit.

'Dell?'

'Yes, Mama.'

'Can you be a big boy for me and make me a snack?'

'Uh-huh, what would you like, Mama?'

'There is a bowl of washed fruit in the refrigerator, it has strawberries, blackberries, grapes and cherries in it. Can you put some in a bowl without cherries?'

'You got it,' he said, using a phrase he'd picked up from Meredeth.

Dell scampered off the bed and wandered into the kitchen; the first thing he found was the bowl. His mother had put a couple of plates, bowls, and cups into the lower cabinets so he could reach them to help her without dragging over a chair and risk hurting himself. After finding a small bowl, he went into the fridge and searched for the bowl of fruit Honey-Milk had described.

It was how Ryan found his son, with his head in the fridge, when he walked in a few minutes later. Dropping his keys in the dish by the door he wandered over with a confused line between his brows. 'Dell? Whatcha doin' little bro?'

'Makin' Mama a suh-nack. She wants fuh-ruits. Suh-trawberries, buh-lackberries and guh-rapes. No cherries.'

'Okay then.'

Ryan reached for the bowl of washed fruit, then took it over to the table with Dell; the smaller Ryan man washed his hands and carefully selected the berries into the empty bowl, counting as he did.

'One, two, thuh-ree, one, two, one, four, two, thu-ree.'

'What's your system, Dell?' Ryan asked, cracking open a can of club soda. Honey-Milk had been favouring the bubbles without the sugar-kick this time around.

'Countin' the kinds of fuh-ruits. There are...four suh-trawberries, two buh-lackberries and thuh-ree guh-rapes.'

'So how many is that all together?'

'Four an' thuh-ree is seven and two is...' Dell used his fingers to help him out a little. 'Nine. Nine pieces of fuh-ruit.'

'Perfect. When you get up to twenty, take them into Mama, okay?'

Dell nodded, continued counting to himself out loud until he reached the magic number. Wiping his hands on the kitchen towel, he gripped the bowl tightly and walked into the bedroom with his father walking behind him.

'Mama, look, you have a suh-nack and Daddy!' he said brightly.

Ryan gave his bride a look of pure love when he saw her in her comfortable winter-wear and her belly looking like it was ready to burst. Her face was smiling but the look in her eyes was one of utter exhaustion and straining patience. He could only imagine how uncomfortable she felt and even then he was certain that was a few degrees shy of what she was experiencing.

'Hi honey,' he said, sitting down beside her and giving her a kiss as he ran his hand over her body. 'Not long to go, is it?'

'Nope.'

'Mama, eat your fuh-ruits.' Dell nudged the bowl towards her.

'Thanks baby.'

'So I was talking to Esposito today and he said that Tessi was telling him she wanted to invite Dell over for dinner and Legos tonight, if it's okay with us,' Ryan said and wasn't at all surprised when his boy gasped dramatically.

'Really?'

'Yes, Meredeth even said she'd make your favourite grilled cheese and tomato soup if you had permission to visit.'

'Can I Mama, puh-lease? I promise I will be ext-uh-ra good and help even more.'

'Well, I suppose so, since you asked so nicely.'

'Yea! I gonna go put my Tessi-toys in a bag.'

Dell raced off once more, and the moment he was gone, his footsteps echoing in the living room, Honey-Milk set aside her bowl of fruit and looked at her husband. 'What are you up to?'

'Javi and I were chatting while we were on surveillance this afternoon and he said if we wanted, he and Meredeth had no plans for tonight and she'd be more than happy to help out and give us a night just for us.'

'A whole night, or a couple of hours?'

'A whole night, she made up the guest room just for him.'

Honey-Milk sniffled a little at the sweetness of the gesture. 'I love that girl.'

'We all do, though not as much as Javi, I think. So, to that end, we are going to get a shower, have dinner out and finish off our evening...with a bang.'

He kissed her deeply, a preview to the alone-time they would enjoy later. 'Unless you think sex isn't a good idea so close to the due date. Harvey said it's okay, but it might trigger contractions, so if you want we can-'

'Kev.' Honey-Milk cut him off with a finger held against his lips. 'You are the best husband in the world, and I love you so much. Even if we just get naked and cuddle up, that's fine by me. I just like having you near, and more importantly, that you want to be with me when I'm so goddamn big.'

'You're beautiful, Jenn.'

'Okay, see now you're gonna make me cry and I don't want that,' she sniffled more loudly this time. 'What time are Mere and Javi expecting Dell?'

'Meredeth had to take Artie to the vet's which is only a few blocks from here so she is picking him up on her way home.'

'Even better.'

* * *

Honey-Milk hadn't realized it until they'd gotten home but she'd needed that night out. She'd started her maternity leave on the twelfth, on the off-chance the baby would be early, but since she knew seventy-five to eighty percent of all little ones were born after the predicted due date, it was more for herself to adjust from being at work on a regular basis to getting the house and herself prepared to have the baby. Thus the night out, just her and Ryan, had been a god-send.

They'd gone to Rafaello's, a wonderful neighbourhood place that would be considered a step up from a diner but not quite a pub. She the buffalo wings and garden salad while he'd gone for the mushroom burger and the veggie-friendly chilli cheese fries. Because the weather was mild enough, they walked around the corner for coffee and pie. How her husband ate the way he did and still managed to stay so trim had her baffled but then, he also wanted to make love with her when she was certain all she need for entry into the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade was strings on her mittens so she left well enough alone.

By the time they made it back to the apartment, there was a message on the phone from Meredeth and Dell, wishing them a good night and not to worry, baby, Dell would see him or her in the morning. His protectiveness was such a long ways from the scared little boy he'd been back in April when she'd told him he would have a younger brother or sister.

'He's so excited,' she told Ryan, who helped her out of her coat and boots while she sat at the kitchen table, 'though I can't really tell if that's because of the baby or the fact he's sleeping over at Meredeth and Javier's.'

'I think it's both, Jenn.' He helped her to her feet and took her into the bedroom. 'But right now, this is just for you and me.'

He tugged at the hem of her sweater, the band of her pants, undressing her as if it were the first time she'd be with a man. When she stood naked before him, he quickly shed his own clothes so he wore only his wedding ring and the pride of seeing the woman he loved carrying his baby.

He took her hand, and turned so she spooned against him, his lips finding the curve of her neck. 'You feel up for a little lovin'?'

'I know you do,' she teased him.

'No, it's not about me right now. Tonight is just for you.'

With gentle moves, Ryan laid his wife down on their bed and just took his time running his hands over her body. Her skin was so softy and dewy, like caressing silk-dipped marshmallows, he thought, as he cupped her breast; he heard her little gasp of delight as he teased her nipple into a taut little peak. When he lowered his mouth to taste it, her hands came up and stroked his hair.

She hadn't thought she would feel this way so late in her pregnancy, but Honey-Milk loved being proven pleasantly wrong. She swallowed tightly as the little frissons of delight made their way down her back, making her shudder. Then he gave the other one the same treatment and the lust that was simmer zipped into her loins, making her ache for him.

He slid his hand over her large belly, stroked down her thigh then back up and brushed his fingers over her where she waited for him, already hot and slick. 'Taste or touch, honey,' he murmured, flicking his glance up to her face.

'Taste.'

Shifting, Ryan moved his mouth from her breast down to her tummy, over the curve of it to her hip, down to her thigh until he reached the honey-pot and nibbled at her, laving his tongue over the sweet wet heat he found there. Normally this act would have led to full sex but he knew this was as much as she could handle right now so he focused all his energy on making sure she felt everything. His tongue dipped and swirled, flicked and nudged over her sensitive skin, making her sigh and moan his name in pleasure; when he moved it over her trigger, she came almost instantly, a light-burst of energy and sensation, making her cries grow loud.

'More, Kev,' she told him.

'You sure?'

'Uh-huh.'

So he gave her what she wanted, what she needed - the proof of how much he loved her, that he would want to make love with her even when she felt so unlike herself. He moved so he slipped in to her from behind, the easiest way to support her abdomen and her back when she was this heavy with child. As he stroked her, her fingers twined with his and she kept them steady over her belly.

When they were finished, sleepy and satisfied from the sex, Ryan helped her roll onto her other side to face him. He studied her face, lax and happy.

'Jenny.'

'Kevin?'

'I just felt like saying your name.'

She smiled, brushed her hand over his cheek, then little out a sharp 'oh!'

The lover in him disappeared like smoke at Honey-Milk's cry. 'What, is it a contraction?'

'No, wait.' Honey-Milk screwed up her face in concentration and the room was filled with the sound of passed gas. 'That's what it is. Sorry.'

'I'm just glad you waited to let it out,' he chuckled, getting a light punch in his shoulder.

'You're disgusting.'

'And yet you still love me.'

'Bet your ass I do.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	39. False Alarm

'Richard.'

'Uh.'

'Richard, wake up.'

Castle lifted his head from the pillow, saw it was just past three in the morning. Turning his head the other way he saw Beckett was sitting up in bed, legs crossed camp-style as she massaged the top-most part of her baby-bump. 'What is it? What's wrong?'

'I think the baby's coming.'

In an instant, Castle was sitting up beside her. 'Are you sure?'

'How the hell would I know, this is my first one. I'm having some weird little crampy feelings around my abdomen, right here and here,' she explained, taking his hand and pressing it to where she'd been feeling the clenching of her muscles.

'Okay, well, we have a couple of options. I can take you into the hospital to get it checked out, or we can wait and then go to the hospital, or we can call Cam up and see what he thinks.'

'Why Cam?'

'He's on shift ten to eight tonight, and he's got a fellowship in emergency obstetric medicine.'

'Why not Jenny?'

'Honey-Milk, like you, is at home waiting for her little one to arrive as well.'

'Right.' The pregnancy brain, which Beckett had been fortunate to experience very little of unlike Meredeth and Lili, had kicked in a little. Or maybe she was just tired and distracted by her bodily functions. 'Let's call Cam, then, we'll see what he says before we make the decision to run off to the hospital.'

'Okay.'

Castle found Cam's number in his mobile's phone-book and was thankful when he got the patient-sounding nurse on the phone. 'George,' he answered brusquely.

'Cam, it's Richard Castle.'

'Hey, bro, what's going on?'

'I'm going to put you on speaker phone.' Castle pushed the button. 'There. Kate thinks she might be in labour, Cam, and we were wondering if you had any over the phone advice you can give us so we might know if she should go into the hospital or just wait it out.'

'Sure, just give me a minute. I'll call you back in like ten minutes okay?'

'You got it, this number is my house-line.'

'Right, got it.'

Castle hung up the phone, and just to be on the safe side in case they did have to go somewhere, he got up and put on a loose pair of jeans and a warm cable-knit sweater. 'Do you want anything, Katie? Water, some tea?'

'Tea, and the Magic bag.'

'I'll go put the kettle on.'

Beckett nodded, tried to breathe deeply as she remembered the advice she'd been given by Amelia Strout in her birthing class. Keeping calm right now was essential and she knew that trying to stay calm was going to be a challenge when her mind was wheeling with excited anxiety. Was this it? Was this the night she truly became a mother? Was this the moment that would bookend its mate when she'd shown her husband the EPT test in the precinct breakroom? What about her bags? Where would they find the time to call Alexis if she was in an exam? What about everyone else, would they wake them up in the middle of the night and expect them to drop everything to rush down and be by their sides?

The phone rang and Beckett realized just how far from calm she was when the simple digital beeping made her feel like she'd heard a gunshot at close range. She heard Castle's footfalls on the stairs and pressed the speaker-phone button just as he re-entered the bedroom with her cup of tea in hand.

'Hello?'

'Kate, it's Cam again, are you on speaker phone with Castle?'

'Yes.'

'Good, okay, walk me through it.'

'I went to bed around ten, ten-thirty, feeling fine. Then about half an hour ago, I woke up to pee and when I was finished I started feeling these weird spasms on my belly. I thought maybe it was gas, but it's already the twentieth and I haven't even had any false alarms yet so I thought it might be the real thing.'

'Alright, has there been a bloody show, like a blood mucus when you used the bathroom?'

'No, clear as glass.'

'And you haven't felt like you've gotten your period when you got up?'

'No, just a regular pee. I remember Lili and Lanie both saying that when your water breaks it's a lot more than just like you're taking a leak, but I also remember Lanie had gone into labor and was having contractions before her water broke, like a good two or three hours before that when she had Carey so I thought maybe that's what I have now too.'

'Okay. Here's my advice, as a medical professional and as your friend. Get a watch and time your contractions. If you're in labour, they're most likely about forty-five seconds to a minute long and should be about twelve to fifteen minutes apart. Call me back in an hour and a half and let me know what's going on, okay?'

'Okay, thanks Cam.'

Castle hung up the phone, reached for his watch on the side of the table, then looked at Beckett. 'What are we doing in between then?'

'Maybe we can watch a movie or something?'

'What are you feeling?'

'Something soft. Maybe _The Little Mermaid_?'

'Of course, Katie, whatever you want.'

Castle went to retrieve the disc and his portable DVD player, which technically was Alexis' but she'd left it with Beckett so she could watch a movie or TV-on-DVD in bed if she didn't feel like going all the way downstairs to the family room television. His sturdy detective had become more and more in touch with her softer, maternal side with each passing week of her pregnancy and that had included her taste in films. When she'd had a bad night or a long day on the job, nine times out of ten, she'd go home to rest with a copy of a Disney classic; there was something she found very soothing in the animated palate of colours. Usually she went for _Fantasia_ as the lack of need to focus on a story if she was feeling sleepy and worry about missing visual gags. Tonight, she wanted something with a little more story so that she would have a distraction from the pain she was experiencing, however intermittently.

He came back and had no sooner set up the disc than he saw her wincing and making a face. He glanced at his watch. Three eighteen. Making a note of it, Castle slipped into bed beside her, pressed play. 'You want a massage or anything.'

'No. Just hold onto me and don't get angry with me if I'm short of temper.'

'Kate, you're having my baby. Angry is the last thing I'm going to be at you.'

She closed her eyes, let her mind drift as she heard the opening song of the classic animated film through the small speakers. They made it to the destruction of Prince Eric's birthday barge before Beckett felt the cramping again, and Castle made a note of the time once more. Three-thirty-six; almost twenty minutes and the discomfort itself was barely lasting twenty seconds. He wanted to tell her it wasn't time for the baby yet, but knew she probably wouldn't be interested in listening to him until the hour was up. So they kept watching and this time, they made it even farther into the film before she felt winced and groaned in small pain again.

By the time the hour was up and they were to call Cam back, Beckett felt far more relaxed than she did when she'd awoke to the odd sensation. She waited with her hands on her belly as Castle dialed Cam's number and gave him the rundown.

'Hey Cam, it's Castle.'

'Wow, that hour went by fast.'

Not for him, Castle thought, but knew Cam was at work and his concept of the time-space continuum was a little different than his own right now. 'We followed what you said to do and she's only had maybe three little spells at most, about eighteen or twenty minutes apart and lasting only twenty seconds.'

'And your water hasn't broken, and you're not leaking fluid?'

'Nope.'

'More than likely then, it's Braxton-Hicks, so get lots of water, lots of rest and remember the golden rule of pregnancy this late in the game is never be afraid to call and ask. Even Dave if you can't reach me, he's trained specifically to deal with mothers, babies and children in crisis.'

'Thanks again, Cam,' Beckett told him.

'Anytime. I gotta run, but hopefully you won't be too overdue. Take care and if you need anything else while I'm on shift, just call.'

Castle hung up once more. 'Well, looks like we survived our first false alarm.'

'Looks like. So Braxton-Hicks? How come I never felt those before? Honey-Milk and Lanie both got them, and I'm pretty sure Mere did too.'

'Pregnancy is different for everyone, but the reason Jenny and Lanie got them earlier in their pregnancy is because they weren't drinking enough fluids. You've been a thirsty girl so you're well-hydrated.'

'Right now, I'm a sleepy girl who wants to go back to bed, even though I don't have to get up for work in the morning.'

'Which reminds me, are you sure you're cool with me going into the precinct to shadow Ryan and Esposito for a few days?'

'Sure, I mean, if I go into labour all I need to do is call you, right?'

'Exactly. Much different than when Alexis was late. I barely wanted to leave Evil Meredith's side and yet she couldn't stand the sight of me.'

'That's bizarre.'

'That's Evil Meredith,' Castle corrected her. 'The same woman who growing up thought that Luke Skywalker was the first man on the moon.'

Beckett snorted. 'I'm beginning to realize there is a lot more of you in Alexis than her mother.'

'She got her mother's looks.'

'But she got your sense of moral responsibility, your tenacity, your sense of humour, and most importantly, your generosity.' She looked up at her husband, put her hand on his cheek to turn his face towards hers. When he looked at her, she gave him a kiss. 'I love you Richard Castle.'

'I love you Detective Katherine Beckett Castle.'

'And now it's time to sleep again.'

Using him as a body pillow, Beckett adjusted herself into as comfortable a position as she could find and willed her body to rest once more.

She awoke alone, and a quick peek at the clock had her frowning. It was almost nine-thirty; aside from working nights or a hangover, she never slept this late on a weekday. Wondering where her husband had gone, she sat up just as he came through the door with a tray in his hands.

'Good morning almost-mom. Got breakfast for you.'

'Breakfast?'

'Yes, the morning meal. You've got wheat toast, with your choice of jam and butter, some scrambled egg whites for protein, strawberries because they're also high in fibre and hot tea to wash it down. Oh and this,' he added, giving her a kiss.

'I thought you were going with Esposito and Ryan this morning?'

'Yeah, about that. Ryan had to take Jenny to the hospital around midnight last night, and Espo said he wanted the morning solo with his partner. So I'm working from home until they call or unless you need need me to boil some water and deliver our baby.'

'Oh my god, is she okay?'

'Yeah, a false labour like you, only hers is a little more intense because she is having a C-section.'

'Of course, makes sense. Well there goes part of my bet. I thought for sure she`d have hers before me.`

`That may still be the case. Oh, and I talked to Alexis, she is flying in on the twenty-sixth for sure, she`ll get here around six. I`ve got the flight number written down somewhere, but right now, you are my priority.`

`Right now your priority wants to eat, shower and maybe play a little more of that murder-board game.`

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	40. Arrivals: 41 Weeks

It was the afternoon of the twenty-sixth and there were still two very pregnant women wandering around in Castle's life, neither showing any signs of bursting quite yet. They were both a week overdue and not only were they cranky, but they were also causing a fair number of police officers in the Homicide bullpen to lose a pretty chunk of change in the baby pool. And because Castle, the resident bookie of the Twelfth's murder-cops, was at home with his own mama-to-be they could only vent their frustrations at him through a carefully worded text or voice-mail.

There hadn't been any hospital-worthy false alarms yet, though they had put in a call or two to Phillips; Ryan wasn't as lucky, as any time Honey-Milk even thought she was having contractions, the standard protocol for her was to go into the clinic at Saint Vincent's because she was having a C-section. Between Dell being so excited and then sugar-crashing with his sleep being disturbed when they all had to go to the hospital and Honey-Milk getting more and more frustrated by the day, it had gotten to the point where Ryan was so exhausted he'd taken a sick day to catch up on sleep and nothing else.

But of course, what the men were feeling was cake compared to what the women were going through. Every morning Beckett woke up snapping at him, quickly following it up with an apology. So Castle did the humane thing and offered to pick Alexis up solo so that she could have a little time to herself without his hovering. She'd been so thankful that she'd burst into tears and cried for five minutes straight out of gratitude and frustration.

Castle, of course, having been through the hell of waiting before, hedged his bets carefully and decided that it would be incredibly prudent of him to have a back-up plan in place. He'd called Meredeth up, as Ryan and Esposito were working an overnight surveillance detail on the twenty-sixth, and invited her along. Being a mother and seasoned international traveler herself, she'd understood his logic one hundred percent – if he had to jet to take care of Beckett, he could do so without Alexis feeling like she'd been ditched or ignored by having a trusted friend there to greet her.

'Thanks again for helping me out, Mere,' he told her as they made their way in the Nissan towards the Arrivals terminal parking-tower at LaGuardia.

'Hep. Mama good hep,' Tessi agreed from the back seat, leaning forward to look at her mother. 'I hep too?'

'Yes, you are a very big help to Mami, Tessi.' Meredeth smiled at her baby girl in the rear-view mirror. 'And what do big girls get who are helpful to Mami when they behave?'

'Sceam.'

'Exactly, you get to have a little ice cream when we get home. She loves the stuff,' Meredeth laughed at Castle. 'She got her daddy's sweet tooth, it looks like.'

'And your good looks and command of the English language.'

'Speaking of which, mark your calendar. January fifteenth, the second Lady-Hawk goes into production for next November.'

'That's awfully quick.'

'Well, we're in pre-production right now, but I'm not producing this time around, just writing so my part isn't nearly as involved as last time. All that other stuff is being done right now without me.'

'And you're cool with that?'

'Yeah, mostly because they know based on the first series and the fan response the direction they want to take it. Plus the entire original voice cast has agreed to come back, even Milo even though he'll have to do his recordings in L.A. since he can't arrange the time away from _Dallas Lieutenant Eve_ to fly out here.'

'Well, congrats, then, it sounds like it's going to be fantastic.'

'Tasic,' Tessi nodded, making Castle chuckle.

'You are an excellent mimic, young lady. Can you say denouement?'

'Nomen.'

'Close enough.'

They found a parking spot, and once Tessi was in her stroller, they fed the greedy meter and made their way inside. Meredeth loved airports, all that sense of adventure and welcome home they promised. When she'd been in the late stages of being pregnant with Tessi, she'd loved watching _The Amazing Race_ solely for the excitement of watching the contestants navigate their way through foreign airports.

They checked the board and saw Alexis' flight was on time, which quickly changed to 'landed' before their very eyes. Despite having to worm their way through the crowd with a baby in a stroller, they made it to the appropriate terminal in good time; Castle knew she'd still have to clear customs and get her luggage but it still didn't stop him from wanting to be there, waiting for her.

Luckily for them, they were near a quick-stop snack bar which offered hot and cold beverages as well as various pastries and other treats. Castle bought tea for both Alexis and Meredeth, a coffee for himself and because he couldn't resist, a little chocolate milk for Tessi complete with a neon green straw. He watched as Meredeth expertly popped in the straw and folded the carton back around it so the risk of spills was minimized; he couldn't help fantasizing about Beckett doing that very soon.

'What do we say, Tessi?' Meredeth gently reminded her daughter.

'Gassy.'

'I'll take that to mean _gracias_?' Castle asked, dumping cream into his coffee and Meredeth nodded.

'We're teaching her Spanish and English together, with a little Danish thrown in for good measure.'

'Cool.'

'Mama, Sis pane?'

'She'll be here soon, princess.'

They didn't have long to wait; thirty-five minutes after they'd seen the plane had been marked 'landed', the doors slid open and Alexis rushed through, tugging her luggage on wheels behind her. Her hair was tied up in a messy knot at the back of her head and her winter coat was unzipped; she'd most likely taken it off during the flight over.

'Dad!'

She all but flew into her father's arms, rocking him back and forth. 'Did I miss it? Is she already in the hospital?'

'Nope, she's at home, patiently awaiting your arrival.'

'And you brought Mere and Tessi in case you got the call and had to bail. Good thinking.' Alexis turned and gave Meredeth an equally warm hug, then flicked her finger over Tessi's nose. 'How are you, young miss?'

'Fisty.'

'Well good thing you've got chocolate milk, isn't it?' Alexis pressed a noisy kiss to Tessi's cheek making the toddler giggle, who passed her carton to Meredeth.

'Mama, no miss.'

'Good idea, princess.'

They walked back out to the car, with the majority of conversation being led by Alexis asking questions about Beckett. By the time Meredeth dropped them off in SoHo before continuing herself up to Chelsea, Alexis was caught up and grinning excitedly.

`Looks like I'm still in the running to win that baby pool.'

'And consider your winnings a reprieve against your student loan from the Bank of Dad.'

He unlocked the door and stopped short when he saw Beckett sitting on the couch with Martha, who was staring at a watch while Beckett worked her way through a breathing exercise, hands on her belly in a protective way. 'Oh my god, Kate, is this it?'

'I think so. I'm getting the same crampy feeling like I did before, only it's longer and they're closer together.'

'Why didn't you call me?'

'I...don't know, your mom was here already and the car service is on stand-by just in case.'

Alexis dropped her bag and her purse by her shoes, raced over to the couch. 'Have you called the doctor? Did your water break?'

'Called Phillips, she was in delivery with another patient and she's calling back as soon as she gets out, and no my water hasn't broken, but all my fellow mothers tell me it's possible to be in labour without that happening. Rich.' She looked up at him with excitement and nerves in her eyes. 'It feels like it's the real thing.'

'Then no waiting for Phillips to call back, we're going to the hospital now. Mother, you know how to forward a call?'

'Of course dear.'

Alexis disappeared momentarily, returned with Beckett's bag and the baby bag Beckett had packed during her week off when they'd been prepping the nursery. 'We're all set Dad.'

'Oh, Lexie, it's okay, babies take their time and you just got off a seven hour flight,' Beckett started, but Alexis shook her head.

'We are a family. I'm coming. End of story.'

* * *

The drive to the hospital was a blur as Beckett focused on her breathing. Phillips did indeed call back and talked to Castle as they went through the streets of Manhattan to get to the hospital. It was one of the few times in her life where giving up the reins to Castle had been not only a necessity but a relief as he checked her in with the paperwork while the nurses helped her into a gown and hooked her up to the machines necessary for keeping an check on hers and the baby's vital signs.

Once in the hospital bed, Beckett saw Alexis come in with a cup of chipped ice and her purse. 'I thought you might like this, though I don't really understand why they make women in labour eat these things.'

'It's so we don't risk overfill our stomachs in case we're nauseous feeling from the contractions or the medication,' Beckett explained, remember Amelia's instructions on the matter. 'My dad said when my mother was in the hospital with me, she...oh my God, I need to call my dad!'

'I'm sure my dad will take care of it. Here.' Alexis rooted around her handbag until she came up with a small make-up kit. 'Want me to do your hair so it's not on your face?'

'Sure.'

Alexis smiled, began to pull the brush through Beckett's dark silky locks. 'This feels like such a mother-daughter moment, I should say something profound and deeply sage.'

'How about I just tell you thank you, for everything.'

Alexis sniffled a little. 'Well that works too, though being away for such a long time at school, I'm not quite sure what I helped with.'

'The best thing is that you call me Mom.'

'Oh, dammit, don't make me cry already, I know I'm going to be a basket case once this little guy or girl gets here.'

The door opened and Castle came in with Phillips, the latter pulling on latex gloves and drawing back the sheets to give Beckett a quick pelvic exam.

'So what's the word, doc?' Castle asked anxiously, wrapping his arm around Alexis.

'Sorry kids. No baby tonight.'

'What?' Beckett looked at her doctor in disbelief. 'Are you sure?'

'No dilation, the waters are still intact and your contractions aren't strong enough to indicate the latent phase of labour. It's nothing to worry about, better to be safe and get it checked out. I'd recommend going home to get lots of rest and lots of fluids.'

Phillips patted her knee, began to unhook the various cords from Beckett's arm. 'Don't worry, my dear, my daughter is about to have her first baby like you, all the way over in Ireland and she is calling me at all hours thinking she's in labour too. Try not to feel too guilty that you came in for nothing tonight, I've seen women who are on their third baby think they're in labour and it's not the case.'

'Thank you, Doctor Phillips.'

Phillips left and Beckett sat up, wrinkled her nose. 'Quite the welcome home, huh, Lex?'

* * *

When they got back to SoHo, they were greeted not only by Martha but also Jim Beckett.

'Jim!' Alexis rushed over to give him a tight hug which he returned. 'No baby yet.'

'I see that.' He gave his daughter an understanding smile. 'Reminds me of when you were born, Katie-Lou.'

'I'm so sorry to have gotten you all excited, Dad,' Beckett started but Jim waved it off.

'Nonsense. Now, why don't we have some tea, and you and Alexis can show me this game that Richard came up with?'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	41. Change of Plans

At nine days overdue, Beckett was ready to lose her mind. She was sick of sitting around the house and being scared that she might go out on her own and go into labour.

The murder-board game Castle had made had definitely helped her sanity, especially after Alexis had arrived home and got to play with her, but even then it was no match for the real thing.

'Alexis,' she said, her tone very close to a whine as they worked on a cold case together. 'I will pay you a thousand dollars to drive me over a set of rail-way tracks right now.'

'Sorry, Mom. The baby will come on its own time.'

'I'll buy you that Dooney & Bourke grafica satchel. I'll buy you one in black _and _white.'

'Sorry.'

'I'll make sure your dad is on kitchen detail for the next three months.'

Alexis considered this one but decided the better and shook her head. 'Beckett, no amount of bribing me is going to make my little brother or sister get here any faster. The thousand dollars would be nice, as would the D&B purses and no KP while I'm home, but babies arrive when they decide to.'

'But I'm _so_ tired of this, it's like an exam that keeps getting pushed back and back until it becomes this big monster.' Beckett gestured with her arms wide.

'Okay, you're getting cabin fever so get your coat. We're going to take a little walk over to that bagel shop I know you love and get something to eat, maybe pick up a baker's dozen or so. You know Dad loves his bagels in the morning.'

'I do.'

'And if you go pop, I'm right there to get ahold of Dad. Where'd he go so early this morning?'

'Court date for a case with the two-headed monster. Let me just...get that,' Beckett sighed as her cellphone rang. 'Hello.'

'Hey, Kate, it's Jenny.'

'Jenny, hi what's up? Oh, is the baby coming?'

'No,' she sighed impatiently, 'I wish it was happy news like that. I just got a text from Dan Brick, one of the nurses who works with Harvey and Phillips and he said that Phillips had left for Ireland, her daughter was having her baby but there were some complications so she had to fly out on the red-eye last night.'

Beckett sank onto the arm of the couch. 'So what does that mean?'

'It means that her patients are being looked after by Harvey until she's back.'

'But...how long will that be?'

'I don't know, honey, that's why I thought I'd call and tell you.'

'And I'm very glad you did.'

'I'll talk to you soon, okay?'

'Yeah. Bye.'

Beckett hung up, stared at the phone for a few seconds before bursting into frightened tears; the total lack of preamble to these waterworks hadAlexis rushing over, taking her hand gently.

'Mom, what's wrong? Did something happen to the baby?'

'No, Jenny's fine,' Beckett sobbed. 'I need you to call your dad, get him to come home.'

'Absolutely. Do you want to lie down.'

The exhausted pregnant woman nodded, curled up like a boiled shrimp on the couch while Alexis texted her father nine-one-one. It took less than three minutes for him to call her back.

'Alexis, what's wrong, is it time for the baby?'

'No, Dad, but Mom just got a call from Honey-Milk and when she hung up, she just started crying and asked me to call, she didn't even tell me what's going on.'

'Okay. I'll let the guys know I have to go and I'll be there as quickly as I can.'

Castle hung up the phone, made his way back into the courtroom where Ryan was just finishing his testimony. He sat down on one of the back benches, knowing that once Ryan stepped down the judge would call for a recess. Within five minutes he was in the hallway of the courthouse with Ryan and Esposito both.

'Nice job bro,' Esposito commented, straightening his tie. 'You really nailed that little creep.'

'Guys I have to go, it's Kate,' Castle blurted out, making both cops turn to face him.

'Is it that time?' Ryan asked, then felt a twinge of concern when Castle shook his head.

'Honey-Milk called Kate and Alexis said she just erupted into tears when she hung up and wants me to come home.'

'For sure, bro, you gotta do what you gotta do.' Esposito clapped him on the shoulder, watched him bound down the stairs in such a way they'd never seen him do - in pure, unadulterated panic. He turned back to Ryan, who'd pulled his cellphone out. 'You think something happened to Jenny?'

'No, but I'm going to double check. Hey, honey, what's going on? What did you tell Beckett?' he asked when his wife picked up the phone.

'Daniel Brick texted me a little while ago, you know Phillips?'

'The OBGYN who transferred from Houston General in May, sure.'

'Well, she's Kate's OBGYN and her daughter is having labour complications...in Ireland and she doesn't know when she's going to be back, which means Harvey is taking over her patients.'

Ryan scrubbed a hand over his face. 'That's harsh. No wonder she was freaking out.'

'Exactly, so Harvey's spending time today getting in touch with her patients and talking to them, getting appointments set up, that kind of thing.' Honey-Milk paused. 'You think I did the right thing?'

'Yes. She'd be upset with the news but even more upset if you didn't tell her and she found out when her baby was actually born.'

'Okay. I'll see you when you get home. Love you.'

'Love you too.'

Esposito eyed his partner when Ryan hung up the phone and dropped wearily onto a bench. 'What's the deal?'

'Kate's OBGYN had an out-of-country family emergency so her doctor whose been looking after her throughout the pregnancy might not be there to deliver the baby and she'll be in Harvey's care instead.'

'Oh that's rough. Not that Harvey's a bad doctor but she's over a week overdue as it is, this is just going to make her go even more crazy with the waiting.'

'Yeah.' Ryan glanced up at his partner, gave a little laugh. 'I have absolutely no idea what to do to help her. I've got my own wife at home in almost the same situation, you know?'

'I know. Maybe...maybe we can put our heads together, get Mere involved, on something we can give her when she goes into the hospital?'

'That's a good idea. But it'll have to wait, it's your turn on the stand, bro,' Ryan commented as the members of the court filed back into the room.

* * *

'Kate, Lex, you're down here?'

'Over here, Dad.'

Castle was through the door and shrugging off his coat in record speed as he went over to the couch where Beckett was curled into a ball on her side, her head in Alexis lap and buoyed by a throw-pillow. She'd stopped crying but still looked miserable and scared.

'Oh, Katie-Lou, it's okay, my love,' he murmured, pulling her into a sitting position, into his arms. 'It's going to be fine.'

'How?' The word was a bitter bark as Beckett sniffled, then rubbed her hand over the belly. 'How is it going to be fine? I liked Phillips, she was patient and understanding, she knew my birth plan inside out and that I'd prefer a C-section to an episiotomy if it came to that, and that I want a spinal block, not an epidural, and-'

'Kate, Kate, breathe, honey, take a three deep breaths.' Castle threaded his fingers through hers as she did so, hoping it would calm her nerves as much as his own needed calming hearing her so distraught. 'Good, now it's not like we're stuck doing this at home. Jenn said you're going to have her OBGYN, right?'

'Uh-huh, Jim Harvey.'

'Right, and correct me if I'm wrong, but he's delivered Rosie, Carey, Tessi and Violet, right? And don't forget, Jenn works with him on a regular basis, and she trusts him to deliver her next baby too.'

'It's not about the fact I don't trust him, it's that I don't _know_ him the way I know Phillips. She did my sonogram and all my check-ups, she understands the kind of birth experience I want and all of a sudden she's not going to be there, it's like 'hello I'm Doctor Harvey and I'll be bringing your child into the world, tell me about yourself between contractions.' That's just...no. No, no, no, no, no.'

'Well, I remember Lili telling me that when she had to go in to have Rosie, and she was very much in jeopardy of losing the baby, and she said she'd never felt more comfortable or secure than having him there,' Castle said, trying to make her feel a little better.

'I understand what you're trying to do and thank you but until you're the one who is going to push a pot-roast out of your eye-socket, you don't get to be this chipper.'

The house line rang, and Alexis picked up, then held out the receiver. 'It's Doctor Harvey.'

Beckett took the phone, tried to clear the tears from her voice. 'Hello, Doctor Harvey?'

'Yes, good afternoon Missus Castle, I'm terribly sorry to have to contact you under these circumstances, but I was looking at your chart and would like to see you as soon as possible, today if you have no other appointments or engagements.'

'Absolutely.'

'In an hour, around two-thirty?'

'Sure.'

* * *

Beckett sat on the exam table in the clinic at Saint Vincent's, trying to force herself to stay as calm as possible. It was a good sign, that her new doctor wanted to meet with her right away like this. It showed he cared even if he'd never met her as his patient.

Castle saw the raw nerves on her face, and picked up her hand, kissed the fingers where somehow, her wedding rings were still on her hand. 'I'm surprised your hands didn't swell up so much and make you take these off.'

'I know, weird right?' she answered mechanically, then sat up a little straighter when the door opened and Harvey walked in. Immediately he walked over and shook Castle's hand.

'Doctor Jim Harvey, I know your family well. Nurse Ryan brags about you all the time.' He flipped open her chart, pulled out the notes of Beckett's birth plan. 'I won't say I know how frustrating it is because I'm not a woman but I will say I've done more than a few last-minute deliveries where women who are anxious and afraid come into my care and they've all done marvelously in the birth room. So I know we just met but I need to do a quick pelvic exam to see how far away you are from delivery.'

He snapped on gloves and with qiuck, steady moves checked Beckett's progress. 'Okay, you're still a day or two away at least, so if you like we can talk about some things to help get the labour process moving along.'

'You mean like drugs?'

'I would prefer to try home remedies first. Spicy foods, long walks, castor oil, lying on the couch or doing crouches on all fours to help move the baby into place. If those still haven't helped you by December third, then we'll talk again about more extreme measures like inducing labour with medication. Now let's talk about your birth plan.'

By the time the consultation was done, Beckett's sense of despair at being without a doctor was assuaged. As she tugged on her coat while Castle helped her with her boots, she blew out a steady breath.

'I like him. I'd prefer Phillips but he's a good second.'

Castle stood up, kissed her as he squeezed her hands. 'I know you're freaking out but there's no law against freaking out and eating at the same time, so let's go collect our daughter from the waiting room and get a bite, okay?'

'Okay.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	42. Moment of Truth

'Kate, honey, why don't you go and rest?'

The minute the words were out of Castle's mouth he regretted it, for he found himself on the receiving end of a rather chilly stare from his monumentally pregnant wife. She was seated at the poker table, her belly protruding like a bad case of elephantiasis under her sweater as she shuffled cards.

'Richard, I love you, but I have been relaxing and resting and I'm going a little nuts. I actually was excited to go with Alexis to the bagel place down the street for no reason other than it was a change of scenery.' Beckett winced, shifted uncomfortably as she felt the pinch in her abdomen, made a mental note to get a really big drink in a few minutes to keep those nasty Braxton-Hicks at bay.

'She's right, Dad.' From her spot at the island where her mini-bartending station was set-up, Alexis nodded; her blue eyes shone in agreement. 'Your friends are coming here to play cards. It's not a nuclear launch or sky-diving in Montezuma, just a little Texas Hold'em.'

There was a knock on the door and she snagged a bottle of her favoured Reed's spiced apple ginger-beer. When she saw Honey-Milk and Ryan walk in, she sighed in understanding at the misery on her friend's face. 'Hey soul sister,' she toasted her equally-pregnant friend.

'Oh gimme one of those.' Honey-Milk held her hand out. 'Oh yeah, that's the stuff.'

'I met with Harvey a couple of days ago,' Beckett told her as she took a seat. 'He's cool. Where's Dell?'

'With Mere and Javi, Dell spent the day with them again after last night's false alarm. They're all on their way here.'

Castle nodded, brought over the bowl of soft drinks; since there was two daddies-to-be in the room, they'd foregone beer and scotch in favour of Diet Coke and mixed juice cocktails courtesy of Alexis. 'Of course, if something happens we want everyone in one place, it makes everything much easier to organize.'

'What about Lanie and Dave, or Gil and Robina, or Lili and Cam?' Alexis asked. 'Are they coming?'

'If there's anything to worry about with babies, we'll call them up,' Castle assured her. 'In the meantime, I think Honey-Milk could use a lovely soft champagne sunrise.'

'Coming up.'

'Make it two, Lex,' Ryan told her, taking a seat beside his wife at the table. 'You joining in tonight?'

'Not tonight, I promised my roommates I'd keep them in the loop on the baby stuff and I didn't talk to them yesterday, so tonight we're having a conference chat.'

'Fair enough. Who's dealing first?'

They had time for about three rounds before there was another knock on the door, and Alexis opened it to Esposito, Meredeth, Tessi and Dell.

'Lexie!' Dell wrapped his arms around her thighs in a friendly hug, then held out his arms while the pretty redhead helped him undress from his winter coat and boots. 'My baby is late,' he told her in a concerned voice. 'It needs to get here soon.'

'Soon,' Tessi echoed, her smile making her dimples identical to her daddy's wink in her cheeks. 'Baby soon.'

'Right Tessi. Come on.' Dell waited while Meredeth set the girl on her feet and helped her unzip her coat. He held out his hand, back-pack over his shoulder as he led his favourite human being on the planet over to the spacious living room where he pulled out her blocks and his dinos to play with.

'Well, that's the babies looked after,' Esposito commented, taking Meredeth's hand in the same way and going over to the poker table with her. 'Time for the grown-ups to play.'

Beckett felt a little normalcy return when her friends sat down and they began to deal the cards while Alexis kept an eye on the little ones as she chatted with her friends. It was just another night of cards. She even won a hand or two, though she imagined by now the amount of cash they played with was a drop in the bucket for whoever would win the baby pool at the precinct.

'How much cash is there in the pot at the precinct?' she asked Esposito, who was shuffling the deck and swigging from his glass of Diet Coke and orange juice, a delicacy Meredeth had introduced him to. 'It's got to be at least four hundred.'

'Seven-sixty three and forty-four cents at last check,' Ryan corrected her, making his friend's eyes pop.

'Seven-sixty three and forty-four cents?'

'But just so you know, both of us-' Ryan gestured between himself and his partner '-are out. He had the twenty-fourth, I had the twenty-eighth and here you are, December first and still no baby.'

'Well, no baby outside your body,' Alexis said as she brought over refills on the soft-drinks.

Beckett laughed, then winced a little at the sharp pain in her abdomen. It felt a little like a Braxton-Hicks but...different, stronger. 'Oh. Oh, that's unpleasant.'

'What is?' Esposito asked, 'my partner's bad jokes?'

'No.' Beckett's brow furrowed as she massaged her belly. 'No, this is weird feeling.'

The conversation around the table died off instantly and all eyes focused on her. Beckett shoved back from the table, pressed her hands to the sides of her belly as she breathed deeply. I think I'm okay, but...'

She trailed off as she suddenly felt the release of fluid between her legs onto her chair. It was far more than if her bladder had let go, and with a sudden hurtling realization, felt her heartbeat quicken.

'My water just broke,' she said in a small, amazed voice.

'Your what?' Castle's head whipped over so fast he gave himself a crick in the neck. 'Kate, are you sure?'

'Uh-huh. It's not just me wetting my pants. I'm having contractions like every fifteen minutes or so, too.'

'How long have you been having them?'

'I don't know, since we finished dinner?' she said, which had Castle's eyes bugging out of his head.

'And you didn't tell me?'

'I didn't think they were anything to worry about, I thought it was just more Braxton-Hicks. I...oh...' She gritted her teeth, as she felt another one, this time stronger. 'Richard, I'm not joking around, this is it.'

'Oh my god! We need the bags, and we have to call Mother and your dad, and let everyone else know, and start timing-'

Beckett had to laugh. 'Rich, calm down, the baby's already twelve days late, I don't think it's going to be getting here anytime soon.'

'Actually,' Honey-Milk interjected, putting on her nurse's hat, 'you need to get to the hospital now that your water's broken, because there's a greater risk of infection. So we better you to Saint Vincent's.'

There was a great flurry of movement in the loft, with Ryan deciding he would be the best option to break the news to the children. He went over to the living room, where Dell was absorbed in reading a Doctor Seuss book to Tessi the best he could.

'Dell,' he said gently, 'we have to tidy up, it's time to go little bro.'

'But we are readin', Daddy,' Dell said pleadingly, 'and Tessi is learnin' the words.'

'Delaney, Kate's baby is on its way.'

The little boy's eyes went round. 'The baby's coming? Tessi, you hear that? Auntie Katie's going to have her baby!'

'Baby dummin',' Tessi repeated. 'Piddle?'

'Uh-huh, Tessi, we have to go to the ho-suh-pital.' Dell nodded, patted her arm while whispering to his father, 'I teach her how to say ho-suh-pital.'

'You're a very helpful little dude, and there's going to be a lot of stuff happening in the next few hours, so Alexis is the grown-up you're going to listen to while we take care of Rick and Kate, okay?'

'Okay. Tessi, time to tidy up.' Dell closed his book and began to put his toys back into his back-pack.

'No miss.'

'Nope, no mess.'

Ryan sighed a little breath of relief, then turned back to the rest of them. 'Lex? Come on over here.'

She was there in an instant and smiled brightly, nerves showing around the edges. 'Kevin, what can I do, how can I help?'

'I know you want to stay with you mom and dad right now, but I need a hand looking after Dell and Tessi. Meredeth and Javi have the car downstairs and they're going to take your parents and my wife to the hospital, so I want you to stay here and help me with the kids.'

Alexis swallowed. She wanted to spend every moment of the birth by Beckett's side but she also understood there was something to be said for keeping the rest of their world functioning as well. 'Where are their coats?'

* * *

'That's it, breathe. Good. How long, Castle?'

He checked his watch as Honey-Milk helped Beckett breathe through a contraction. 'They're about fourteen minutes apart, and last fifty, fifty-five seconds. Baby, are you feeling okay?'

'Just dandy,' Beckett said on a heavy exhale. She knew she'd probably ruined that kitchen chair and her pants were almost certainly a total loss; she'd had time to change them before they left so she wouldn't mess up the back-seat of Meredeth's cute little red car. For whatever reason, the idea of the cute red car made her think of something very important. 'Oh, did someone call my dad?'

'I did.' Meredeth twisted from the front seat while Esposito navigated the Nissan west towards Saint Vincent's. 'I told him your water had broke and you were on your way to the hospital and he said he'd meet us there. I also called the theatre stage manager to get word to Martha as soon as she's off-stage that we're taking you in.'

'Thanks Meredeth.' Castle patted her shoulder, then turned his attention back to Beckett. 'We'll get to the hospital faster because he's coming all the way from Sixty-Second and Seventh.'

'West side of the park, nice,' Esposito commented. 'You know, in all the years we've been friends, I don't think it's ever come up what your dad does, Beckett.'

'He's a cabinet-maker. The custom kind, the kind where the wood alone is in the four digits.'

'How'd he meet your mom, then?' Honey-Milk asked, knowing the change of topic would help keep Beckett calm. 'Not to be mean but a law professor and a cabinet maker don't seem like they'd run in the same circles.'

'She'd won a prestigious award for a paper she'd written so she decided to upgrade her office space at the university and decided some new bookshelves were the way to go. She called up the firm he worked with at the time and he came over, and the rest is history.'

'A nice set of shelving is like diamonds to some women, right Javi?' Meredeth glanced over, grinned at her husband.

'I got Meredeth shelving for our six months together.'

'Are you serious?' Now Castle had to laugh a little. 'All the lovely romantic things you two do for each other and your six-months anniversary gift to her was shelving?'

'A little context is required I think,' Meredeth chuckled. 'I'd just moved the previous November into Chelsea and he knew how broken-hearted I was that I didn't have any decent shelving for my DVD collection, so he got Antonio to make me that nice oak wall unit in the living room.'

'How sweet. What did you get him, then, Mere, a new bathtub for the ensuite?'

'No, I got him the cappuccino maker in our kitchen. I'm not a coffee drinker and when he moved in he was a little farther away from the station, so having the fancy one at home save him a little time in the morning.'

'I think that's absolutely lovely,' Beckett told them. 'It shows you're very much in love and aware that the most meaningful gifts aren't always the biggest shiny Harry Winston diamonds or the coolest gadget in the Apple store.'

'Says you,' Castle teased her, then swallowed as Esposito turned the car into the fast-track clinic's drop-off zone. 'We're here.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	43. Get This Party Started

It was amazing, Beckett thought; with the right motivation it was possible to tune out an entire crowd of people, like those in the waiting room of the clinic. Castle had found a wheelchair not in use for her to sit in, and once they had the room assignment in the maternity ward, Meredeth wheeled her to the elevator while Castle took care of the paperwork with Esposito.

She was escorted into the maternity suite by a giant of a man who introduced himself as Daniel Brick, one of the nurses on Harvey's delivery team. 'Any questions or concerns you have, don't hesitate to ask,' he said genuinely as he passed her the gown to change into, then began to set up the monitors in the room. 'When did you last eat or drink?'

'I finished dinner around five-thirty. Roast-chicken pizza with a green salad and orange juice.'

'Okay. What is your average fluid consumption during your pregnancy on a daily basis?'

'About two to three cups of water plus another four to six in tea, juice and milk. No coffee, gave it up before I even got pregnant. Why is this important?' she asked as one of the other nurses attached a blood pressure cuff and fixed on an ID bracelet to her wrist indicating her allergy to tetracycline antibiotics.

'Then we know the fluid dosage to give you by IV. You can also consume small amounts of clear fluids. Apple juice, light tea, water, things like that, but the moment you feel nauseous, you get only ice chips, and even then, you get only ice chips once we administer the spinal block.'

He made a few notes on her chart and left; Beckett stared after him as she wiggled her feet around under the sheets. 'Now it's hurry up and wait again, huh?' she asked Meredeth.

'A little more intense than that, but essentially yes.' Meredeth folded Beckett's clothes she'd discarded into a neat pile, ready to go into her bag when Castle came in the room. 'Brick's a good guy, he was there when I had Tessi. He's the surgical nurse there just in case Harvey needs to do an emergency procedure. He's organized like a Roman legion and discreet as a priest.'

'That's good. Did he have to do anything?'

'Almost. Tessi wasn't turned fully around and the cord was bunched near her throat. Not around it, just near it and he was there ready to jump if Harvey said frog. But Harvey got Tessi turned around manually and she came out without any tears or cuts.'

'Yeah, I'm hoping I can have that to, I, ah...I convinced Rick to do that massage thing you and Honey-Milk talked about,' Beckett said on a blush and Meredeth laughed, patted her friend's hand.

'It feels a little weird when you're doing it, believe me, Javi thought the same thing but afterward, like after the birth, you're very thankful you did.'

'Good because...oh, crap. Crap crap crap.' Beckett felt her belly tighten and she held out a hand to blindly grip something to displace her discomfort.

Meredeth clasped her friend's hand and kept her voice steady. 'That's it, Kate. Breathe, in through the nose, out the mouth, and another one. Good girl, almost there, and one more. There you go.'

Beckett blinked, looked at the monitor though she couldn't decipher the codes of it. She recognized her heartbeat but that was about it. 'You did this for twelve hours?'

'Uh-huh. Fifteen including before my water broke, and another forty minutes of pushing.'

'You're my hero,' Beckett laughed.

The door opened and Castle came in, followed by Esposito; immediately Meredeth stood up to give him the spot of honour beside his wife. 'We just got through a contraction,' she told them.

'Good, good.' Castle set the bags down, along with Beckett's purse as he sat down beside her. 'Ryan, Alexis and the babies are on their way, Honey-Milk's keeping an eye out for them and when they get here, Ryan said he'd keep watch for your dad and Mother.'

'Okay.'

The door opened once more and this time, Harvey came in dressed in his scrubs this time around as opposed to the natty suit underneath his white jacket when Beckett and Castle had met him a few days before. His presence gave Meredeth and Esposito the signal to leave and keep an eye out for the others as they arrived in various waves. Alone with their physician, Beckett smiled as best as she could.

'Looks like you're a magic charm, Doctor, three days in your care and I make like Jiffy-Pop.'

'And here I thought your husband was the write,' he returned with a wink. 'Okay, feet up and knees open, Kate let's have a check.'

She followed his instructions, keeping her hold steady on her husband's hands. Harvey felt around in his solemn, professional way, nodded. 'Looks good so far, Kate, you're about two centimetres dilated and we want to see a centimetre an hour. You can get up and walk around, but only sitting in your hospital bed because it's far more sterile.'

'What if I need to pee?'

'Don't hold it in,' Harvey replied. 'Your bladder is in the pelvic cavity and we want to keep the pressure there to a minimum. It will also help keep the area clear.'

Castle had no idea what that meant but he trusted Harvey's judgement, so he nodded as the doctor continued, 'Your birth plan indicates you are in favour of a spinal block over an epidural, which we can't administer until six centimetres.'

'Right.'

'Excuse me, Doctor.'

All three glanced over and saw Honey-Milk, massively pregnant herself standing at the door. 'Mind if I have a word with her?'

'Of course, Nurse Ryan. How are _you_ feeling,' he asked with a wry look.

'Huge. A little jealous she gets to go first.'

'Well, who knows, maybe we'll having dueling babies tonight.'

'Is she getting an IV?' Honey-Milk asked, peering over Harvey's elbow to look at Beckett's chart. 'Sorry, I'm nosy.'

'You work with him and if you weren't so close to the finish line yourself, you'd be in there with me.' Beckett shifted, adjusted her legs to try and find a comfortable position. 'Rick, can you move that pillow behind my back?'

'Andrea is on her way up from the pharmacy as we speak, Nurse Ryan. Why don't you worry about being a friend tonight instead of the medical staff.'

'Not easy but I'll try.'

'Kate, everything looks good here, so Andrea will be by in a moment to hook up your IV. Nothing to eat now, until after the baby's born and clear fluids only unless you start to feel nauseous. I'll be back in an hour to see how things are progressing.'

Harvey disposed of his gloves, and left as Honey-Milk stayed at the foot of the bed, patted Beckett's ankle. 'You'll do great, honey. Just remember to listen when Harvey says take a break in between pushes, okay? Your body wants to fight that instinct but trust me, your systems need the rest.'

'Thanks, Jenny. For everything, really.'

'I wish I could have done more, but apparently Ryan's boys and my ladies had other plans,' she laughed, rubbing her own

'You're still going through with a C-section?'

Honey-Milk nodded. 'It's the safest way to get the baby out and far easier to let a surgical scar heal than a broken tailbone.'

'How's Dell handling the idea of you having the baby like that?' Castle asked.

'He's the most precious little boy and so compassionate. He says if that's what the doctors say, listen to them. They're smart, that's why they are the doctors.' She swiped a little a her eyes, then gave a little 'whew' to regain her composure. 'Anyways, I just wanted to check on you. I'll get out of your hair, let you have a moment alone.'

She left so it was just the two of them in the birthing room, and Beckett tried turning to her side to look at her husband.

'In case I forget once we're really into it, I love you very very much, Richard.'

'And I love you very very much, Katherine.'

'Really, you've been so patient and understanding, and I feel so cared for and pampered. Maybe...maybe since I didn't get to before the baby came, I could cash in one of those offers of a spa day for my first mommy's day away from tiny here?'

'Consider it done.' Castle kissed her lightly and Beckett felt a little pang near her belly button. 'Guess Junior says that's not allowed right now.'

'Nope, and neither do I,' she agreed as her beeping monitor began to pick up pace. 'Another one.'

'Okay, okay, I'm here. No worries, just breathe.'

They made it to the end of the next contraction with no drama, but they didn't have much time to rest as the door opened and Beckett's father, along with Alexis, came in. Beckett's face split into a grin.

'Daddy, you made it.'

'Of course I did, Katie-Lou.' Jim came over, kissed his child's sweaty brow. 'You haven't been here long, I take it?'

'I don't know, maybe an hour?' Beckett patted the bump, which was now rock-solid. 'I'm gonna be a mom, Dad.'

'And a damn fine one you'll be.'

'We decided if it's a girl to name her after Mom.'

Now Jim's eyes, already full of a maelstrom of emotions, spilled over. 'Oh, she'd like that very much I think.'

'Joanna Alexandra Castle. And if it's a boy, well, we've still got a couple of names floating around on that one.'

'Kate, I brought you some tea.' Alexis put the paper take-away cup on the rolling-foot table. 'I heard Honey-Milk say you can have that as long as it's not too strong, and the warm water might help keep your muscles from clenching up.'

Yet another person knocked on the door; this time it was Andrea, the nurse Beckett recognized as the one from the nursery when Tessi had been born and they'd all gone to see her with Esposito while Meredeth was in recovery. She brought with her IV tubing and bags.

'We are doing big business tonight,' Beckett laughed, holding out her wrist for Andrea to do her thing. 'Who's next?'

As if on cue, Martha swirled into the room, smelling of sweat and stage makeup, the latter of which had obviously been ravaged with weeping happy tears. 'Hello my darlings, oh, Katie look at you.' Her eyes welled up once more and she made no effort to staunch her tears. 'You look absolutely beautiful.'

'Yeah, right.'

'You do,' she insisted. 'There is nothing more glorious than a woman about to have a baby with the man of her dreams. When did all this excitement start?'

'During cards, but I think I was actually having contractions since dinner,' Beckett admitted on a blush. 'I thought it was more Braxton-Hicks, but then when we had Mere and Javi and Kevin and Jenny there to play poker, my water broke.'

'There are worse times and places to go into labour,' Jim commented. 'Like your mother, who was in the middle of a lecture.'

'I remember Mom telling me that story when I was in grade nine health sciences and learning about the process of birth.' Beckett plucked at the hospital bed-sheet, tried not to be too melancholy that she wanted her mother here, to stroke her brow and tell her it was going to be just fine. Though she had one of the best support teams anyone could ask for,there were moments when only Mom would do and she wasn't here.

She didn't have long ti think on it, as another contraction hit, this one a little larger and longer than the last one. 'Rick,' she said between her teeth, squeezing his hand tightly.

Martha watched her son murmur to his wife, and gently nudged the others from the room to give them some privacy. 'Well, Alexis and Jim, why don't we see about getting some snacks for that group in the waiting room,' she said, looping her arm through each of theirs. 'I have a feeling it's going to be a long night.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	44. Little Castle

_Hello all, been awhile since I checked in, I know, but here we are! Hatchling baby #2 and Crumbsian baby #7!_

* * *

Time moved slowly, as Beckett expected it would. It was part of that Murphy's Law conundrum - the things you wanted to happen sooner felt ages away and moments you could do without raced toward you like a freight-train. At three centimetres by eleven, she was ready to be up and walking around, even took a little trip down to the lounge to say hi to everyone. Her stomach churned a little when she saw that Martha and her father had found a twenty-four seven grocery store and had brought sandwiches, salads, fruit and chips for the group to munch on while staying in solidarity in the crowded lounge. It never failed to amaze her that they were of no blood relation with a few obvious exceptions and yet they were closer than some families she knew.

Besides the usual suspects who'd been at poker night, Lanie and Dave were there which surprised her, but she'd learned that Oscar was in town with his team and had volunteered to stay with the babies so they could come to the hospital to show their support.

'What, girl, you think I'm just going to let my best friend bring her baby in the world without me?' she'd teased her friend. 'Not a chance.'

'Thank you,' Beckett said, then winced as she felt another contraction hit. She braced herself against Castle's body and when it was over, she patted his hand. 'Back to bed for me.'

'You sure?'

'Yeah.'

'I'll go with you, Kate,' Dave volunteered. 'Castle, grab a quick bite or a drink or something.'

It went like that, all her friends took their turns rotating through the hospital room so Castle could keep his own body in check so when crunch-time came, there was no way he'd let her down. It made her more than a little jealous that he could snack while she only got the glucose drip, but when the first round of pain meds came, she realized that keeping anything stronger than juice down would have been a Herculean task unto itself. And with the way her contractions were coming closer and closer together, she wouldn't have been able to manage more than a few bites at a time anyways.

There was a small reprieve in the pain he saw his wife in when Harvey came in to administer her spinal block and give her another quick check. 'You're moving along nice and steady, Kate,' he told her, making a note on her chart. 'At this pace, we'll be calling you Mom by breakfast time.'

'Richard, refill,' she asked, holding out the cup that had her ice chip supply in it.

'You got it.'

He sprinted off and was back in under two minutes, then studying her face pulled her hairbrush out of her bag. 'Here,' he said, pulling it through her sweat-dampened locks. 'Let's get this off your face and neck, bet that feels cooler, huh?'

'Very. Richard...I'm scared.'

'It's okay to be frightened. Just remember what Honey-Milk said, rest in between the contractions.'

'You're so calm. How are you so calm?'

He wasn't; inside he was a terrified screaming mess, but there was no way in hell he'd let her know that. 'Part of my charm, sweetie.'

A few hours later, when she hit eight centimetres Andrea the nurse came in to shave her down and administer the final dose of pain medication she was permitted. At that point, with her contractions barely two minutes apart Beckett felt so out of her own body she could only let her head roll lightly against the pillow, side-to-side.

'What time is it?' she asked her husband.

'Almost six in the morning. You've been at this about nine hours.'

'That's it? Man, I sure hope Javier buys Meredeth a Ferrari for Mother's Day. I don't know if I can do this.'

Castle laughed, picked up her clammy hand. 'You're a superstar, Kate. And I'll be right there with you.'

The door swung open and Harvey came in with Nurse Brick and Andrea in his wake. He pulled on yet another set of fresh gloves. 'How are you feeling, Kate?' he asked in his upbeat tone that hadn't wavered the entire time she'd been sweating and panting her way through labour.

'I'm the mom, I'm the boss, can't I have a say in when it's time to come out?'

'Nope, but it's a moot point anyways because you are ready to go to the delivery room and start pushing.'

Beckett blinked, looked at Castle who was as excited and worn out and freaked out as she felt. 'Time to push?'

'Yes.'

'Oh my god.'

Brick and Andrea unlocked the feet of her bed to wheel her across the skywalk, Beckett panting the entire time as another contraction hit. 'Rich,' she called out, and felt his firm grip on her hand.

'I'm right here.'

They stopped just before the doors of Delivery Room Three and Beckett opened her eyes to see Alexis standing there with the cameras, both still and video, to give to her father.

'Good luck, Mom,' she said, kissing Beckett's brow. 'I'll be right out here waiting.'

'Thanks, baby.'

Alexis gripped her hand tightly in reassurance and then let go as they wheeled her into the delivery room. There was a bed set up there and somehow, Beckett didn't know how but they transferred her to it; she didn't give a damn either way, she just wanted to get this scary part underway.

At the foot of the bed, Harvey rolled up, freshly-gloved by his assistants as he had a good look at Beckett. As a precaution, he had Brick put down sterile drop-cloths in the event that her intestines let go during pushing. He nodded as Andrea helped Beckett move into position on one side with Castle on the other.

'Looks really good here, Kate, so it's time to try pushing. Ready, you're going to push for twenty seconds on three. One, two, three.'

Beckett nodded, her feet against the stirrups as Brick folded back her gown. With one hand wrapped around her knee, the other gripping Castle's tightly, she bore down and pushed. The pain and pressure of it was unlike anything she'd experienced. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her jaw clenched as she heard Harvey coutning it down.

'Three, two, one and breathe, good. You're doing great, Kate, take a breath and relax a moment.'

Beckett blew out a breath, panting heavily. She turned to look at Castle, who was staring back at her with nothing but pure love and pride for her.

'You're amazing, Kate, keep going.'

'Okay, here comes another contraction, you're going to push again for twenty seconds. In three, two, one, go.'

Once more, Beckett focused all her energy into her lower body, pushing as hard as she could. 'Oh, God it hurts.'

'Kate, don't give up, you're doing fine,' Harvey reassured her. 'And rest once more.'

Beckett's breath exploded out in a puff, the pressure in her belly huge. She turned again to look at her husband, and this time he leaned in, kissed her brow. 'My hero,' he murmured. 'Honey, I'm so proud of you.'

'Castle, shut the fuck up!' she shouted at him as the next contraction hit, squeezing his hand even tighter than before. She knew she was probably grinding his finger bones into dust but that was peanuts compared to what was going on her her body.

At her feet Harvey nodded. 'The baby's head is starting to crown, Mister Castle would you like to see?'

Castle nodded, pressed a hard kiss to Beckett's temple as panted her way through the contraction. He put his hand on her knee and with the bravery of a man in love, looked down to see the fuzzy little dome stretching its way out of his wife's lady parts. 'Oh, man, Kate, that is so beautifully disgusting.'

'Love you too, you bastard,' she hollered at him, as tears began to leak out of her eyes from the effort. 'Richard, please.'

'Okay, okay, I'm right here.' He moved back up to be by her head and hold her hand once more. 'I'm here, Katie-Lou.'

'Time for another push, Kate.' Harvey glanced up. 'This time thirty seconds.'

Beckett tried to get her breath and went she grunted and pushed, her foot slipped and nailed Brick square in the gut. She fell back against the birthing bed, panting even harder.

'Is...is it out yet?' she huffed.

'The head's almost there, Kate, another push should get the head out,' Harvey reassured her. 'Rest now.'

'No, I don't want to, I want it out.'

'Kate,' Harvey said firmly, 'you're in between contractions and your heart needs the break.'

'Chin on chest, five deep breaths, honey,' Andrea soothed her, relieved when she followed her instructions.

'That's the way, now one big thirty-second push. Three two one, go.'

Beckett clenched her eyes shut, let out a yell as she pushed again and this time, Harvey smiled. 'The forehead's out, Kate, and it's a gorgeous one. Take another few breaths and another big push.'

'No. I can't. I'm too tired.' Chest rising and falling liek she'd run a marathon, Beckett thumped her head against the pillow. 'I'm too tired.'

'Kate it's perfectly natural to hit the wall,' Harvey reassured her.

'You can do it,' Castle told her, wishing there was something he could do for the worn out look on her sweaty face. 'Come on, Kate, you can do it.'

Beckett felt her resolve waver but she nodded. She just wanted her baby out and here, in her arms. She found the strength from somewhere deep inside for another push, which she was told by Harvey got the body out.

'Good, good and rest.' Harvey saw the rest of the head slip out, along with one shoulder, then the other. Brick passed him a bulb syringe for suction, to get the extra fluid out of the baby's nostrils. 'Quite the shoulders this one has, built like a little linebacker. One more should do it, Kate. On my count three, two one, and go.'

With one final growl of determination, Beckett dug deep and pushed until she thought every last one of her internal organs would burst from the strain.

Then the pressure lifted and she heard it - the bold, reedy cry of new life.

Her baby.

Beckett's head thumped back against the pillows of the bed and she felt her husband's cool, soothing touch against her clammy forehead. 'I did it,' she cried in a small triumphant voice. 'I had a baby. Oh, God, Richard, what is it?'

Castle looked down to where Harvey was holding up their baby and laughed. 'It's a boy.'

'A boy?'

Castle craned his neck to get a better look as the doctor clamped off the umbilical cord. 'Yep. Ten finger, ten toes and two testicles. We have a son, Kate.'

'I want to hold him.'

'Of course.' Harvey took the receiving blanket from the nurse and once the umbilical cord was snipped by the proud Castle, he put the new little one into his mother's arms. 'Congratulations, he's beautiful.'

'Oh my god.' Beckett looked down at the baby, still smeared with bodily fluids and very much alive as he wailed and wriggled. 'Hey you, what's the commotion about, huh? Oh...oh, Richard,' she said, as she began to weep when her son blinked his eyes and tried turned towards the source of her voice. 'He knows me. Hey there, tiny, you know me, don't you?'

'Hey there, little bro, you know who I am too, don't you?'

'Hi there, Richard James,' Beckett murmured; the use of the names had Castle blinking.

'Richard James?'

'Uh-huh, after the two most important men in my life.'

Castle didn't bother to hold back the sob this time. 'That's a lot of name for a little guy, don't you think?'

'We'll call him RJ.'

'RJ. I like that. RJ Castle. Hey RJ, you know me too, don't you?' He let out a watery laugh as he wept without shame, his chin against Beckett's shoulder. 'Kate, I love you so much.'

'I love you too, Richard.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	45. Twenty Three Minutes Old

For a few moments, the nursing staff busied themselves tidying up their instruments; Harvey handed off the soiled drops to Brick, who disposed of them discreetly and Andrea, not wanting to break up the tender moment, stepped up on the other side of Beckett with an apologetic look.

'Excuse me, there,' the nurse smiled gently at the new parents. 'We still need to deliver the afterbirth, and this little guy needs a bath and some measurements taken.'

'Can I have something to drink, please?' Beckett asked like a schoolgirl, her eyes still on her son.

'In a few minutes. I know you're thirsty but you've still got the IV hydrating you for the moment,' Andrea reassured her, scooping the baby out of Beckett's arms and taking him over to the waiting scales. 'Mister Castle why don't you come with?'

'Okay, I'm going with RJ, sweetie.' Castle looked at his exhausted bride and grinned foolishly before he gave her a kiss. 'We're right over there.'

He followed Andrea over while Harvey and Brick continued to take care of Beckett, watched her do her medical thing with his son.

'Alright Richard James Castle, little RJ, you were born at six-eighteen am on December second. He's a middle weight at seven pounds, eleven ounces, or three point four-eight-seven kilos and length is eighteen point two inches or forty-six point two-three centimetres. Oops, there goes the hose,' she laughed as RJ's little bladder let go while he wailed away. 'I know, sweetheart, it's so different than being inside Mommy isn't it? It's bright and cold and it's loud, but we'll get you bundled up soon.'

Andrea continued to give RJ the once-over while he exercised his little lungs, wailing away like a champ which had Castle laughing through his tears of joy. 'Hey little man, I know, spending all that time with Mommy is the best isn't it? But we're gonna have some pretty awesome times together ourselves soon too.' He winced a little as the nurse tested his scrotum for abnormalities and felt a twinge of sympathy. 'Okay, that one isn't fun, I'll give you that.'

'He's just beautiful. It's awful timing Honey-Milk couldn't be in here delivering the baby like she did for your other friends,' she said as she rubbed RJ down with cleansing wipes, then attended to his behind as he began to leak black ooze. 'And there goes baby's first poop. Such a typical male.'

She fixed on his nappie, then reached for a white onsie but when she went to wrap him up in a blue and white striped blanket, Brick hollered at her from across the room.

'No, Andy, wait! Nurse Ryan asked us to wrap up the baby in this.'

'Of course she did,' Castle laughed when he saw the blanket - navy blue with yellow number-twelves dancing all over it, and a matching blue baby-toque with the NYPD crest. 'Oh Missus Ryan, you couldn't resist, could you?'

'Here we are.' Andrea picked up the still-distraught RJ and put him in his Castle's arms. 'Safe and sound with Daddy.'

'Hey there, big man, yeah, you're just like Mommy aren't you, always like to have the last word,' he crooned to his son as he walked over to where Beckett had finished being attended to by Harvey, and melted a little when RJ's cries subsided a little at his voice. 'Here we are, Mom.'

_Mom_. Beckett's eyes filled up as she held out her hands for RJ and cuddled him against her, using the same soft voice she had when she'd first held him. 'That's right, that's me, I'm your mama, RJ.'

Castle picked up the camera, took a few snapshots after he'd shut off the video-camera - why his wife wanted the birth on video he had no freakin' clue - then leaned in to watch his face. He had Beckett's button nose and cute-monkey ears and his own square shaped face with the prominent brow-line. As he listened to Beckett's crooning voice, his cries softened into whimpers and he blinked open his big dark eyes; they couldn't tell what colour they would be yet.

He was, in a word, perfect.

'Good job, Kate,' Castle said, flicking his fingertip over RJ's cheek.

'You too, Rick.'

'Nope, not on this one. He's a little bit of heaven. That's definitely all you.'

Beckett smiled, then yawned. 'I just want to cuddle him up, but I'm so tired.'

'That's okay, Kate.' Harvey grinned as he wheeled over the bassinet. 'We're going to get you back to your room here, and give you a sedative to get some rest. RJ's coming with you too, so this would be a great opportunity for you to tell your friends in the waiting room you've got another baby to spoil at Christmas.'

'Alexis.' Beckett's eyes went wide. 'We need to tell Alexis.'

'Can I-'

'Go, absolutely, she needs to hear it first.'

Castle gave her one last kiss, then stripped off his protective gown before he went into the hallway. He glanced at the bench outside the delivery room and saw Alexis, wide-eyed and overtired awaiting news. On one side was Martha, the other Jim, and the moment she saw him, Alexis was popping up to her feet and Castle's control finally let go. He pulled her close in a fierce hug, both weeping on the other's shoulder.

'So?' She asked her dad through her tears.

'You have a little brother.'

'A boy? Mom had a boy?'

'Oh Richard.' Martha fanned her hands in front of her eyes. 'Now I have a granddaughter and a grandson.'

'As do I,' Jim added, giving Alexis a light hug. 'How big? How's my Katie-Lou doing?'

'She's a superstar, she swore her way through it all and gave us a seven pounds, eleven ounces boy. Richard James Castle, born at six-eighteen am. Richard James, after-'

'The two most important men in her life,' Alexis finished on a water laugh.

Castle shook his head, pulled her close. 'You are too smart.'

'We'll go and get that group some fresh coffees, and something to eat for all of you as well,' Jim offered, which had Castle nodding his approval.

The new grandparents headed for the elevator while Alexis stayed behind with her dad who pulled her close once again. 'Listen, they're going to move your mom and your brother back to their room in a few minutes so she can get some rest, and I don't want them to be alone, so you get to tell everyone in the waiting room the newest Castle is here, okay?'

nodded eagerly as she tried to get a grip on her emotions. She gave her dad a kiss on the cheek, patted it, then walked down the hallway past the nurses station like a zombie, focused on her task and remembering the important details. When she reached the family room just a few doors down from Beckett's maternity suite, Alexis pressed a hand to her chest. Everyone was still there, in various states of awake or not; Esposito was already up with a fidgety Tessi on his lap while Ryan held Dell in his lap, rocking him gently as he murmured to him. Meredeth, Lanie and Dave were all zoned right out, and someone had found a cot for Honey-Milk to stretch out on and though she was awake, she was still lying down and resting.

'Guys,' she whispered, then tried again a little louder. 'Guys?'

Esposito and Ryan both looked over at her, nudged the others awake.

'Lex, that you?' Meredeth yawned, stretching upwards while Lanie did the same. 'You have an update for us?' Esposito asked, Tessi wiggling around excitedly in his lap.

Alexis nodded, then burst into tears. 'I'm...I...'

'It's okay, girl, take a breathe,' Lanie said with a reassuring smile. 'Spit it out.'

'I'm a big sister. I have a little brother.'

Everyone cheered excitedly, with Meredeth and Lanie giving her big hugs as she continued to gush like Niagara Falls. The noise had Dell stirring awake and he blinked in irritation

'Daddy, the TV is too noisy,' he muttered, making Ryan laugh.

'It's Alexis, little bro. She came to tell us Kate had the baby.'

At this news, Dell was wide awake and twisting around to look at his fairy princess Alexis. 'Daddy, leggo, I wanna give her a hug, puh-lease.'

He squirmed out of his father's lap and rushed over to squeeze Alexis around her legs. 'Yea Alexis, you are a big si-suh-ter now. What is the baby's name?'

'Richard James Castle. He's seven pounds eleven ounces. Dad said we're calling him RJ.'

'Oh that's perfect.' Meredeth clapped brightly, Tessi adding, 'Ah-jay Da-sell. Nice.'

'Castle, Tessi,' Dell tried to help her. 'Castle with a Cah.'

'Da-sell,' Tessi repeated.

'It's okay, Dell.' Honey-Milk laughed a little at her son, rubbing her own pregnant belly with just a tiny twinge of jealousy. Why had her friend gotten to be the lucky one who popped first? They'd gotten knocked up on the same day, even had the same due date, for cryin' out loud. 'How's your mom doing, Lex?'

'Fine, Dad said she's on her way back up to her room for a rest and he's going with them, and wanted me to come and tell you all that...that RJ is here, safe and sound.' Overwhelmed, Alexis sank onto the nearest chair, and buried her face in her hands. It was so much to take in after being awake the entire night in anticipation and excitement and the fringe panic that something might go wrong. Vaguely, she felt someone sit beside her; she realized it was Meredeth from the scent of her fancy French perfume.

'It's all right, Lex,' she murmured, stroking her back as the young woman wept like a child,

'Here, honey.' Lanie reached into her purse, handed Meredeth some tissues to give to Alexis. 'It's been a long night, and we all need some sleep.'

'Nooze,' Tessi agreed. 'Mami nooze.'

'Yeah, Mami needs a snooze, princess. We all do,' Esposito agreed, kissing her cheek, as Castle walked in, looking worn out and deliriously happy. His eyes were red and puffy from weeping and lack of sleep, and he had a little bundle in his arms. 'Looks like we've got a visitor.'

'Is that RJ?' Dell asked in a hush; he knew little babies needed quiet. 'He comin' for a visit?'

'You know it,' Castle replied and sat down beside Alexis. 'Big sister hasn't gotten to hold him yet.'

The gesture nearly made Alexis start blubbering again but she kept her eyes clear as her father passed the baby to her, and she automatically adjusted her arms so his head was supported by the crook of her elbow. 'Hey there, RJ,' she sighed, beginning to rock her body back and forth as he fretted a little, 'I'm Alexis, I'm your big sister. I've wanted to meet you for a long time.'

'Moosh baby, Daddy?' Tessi asked with hope in her big blue eyes.

'Very gently.' Esposito stood up and walked with Tessi over to Alexis, who put RJ in her lap so he was at eye-level for Tessi. The toddler studied the newborn, then put her finger to her lips with a 'mwah' and pressed it to his forehead that peeked out from under the NYPD baby toque. 'Good girl Tessi.'

'Nice,' she whispered, then gave Dell a hug and a full kiss on the cheek. 'Nice,' she repeated and had the four-year-old blushing.

'Thank you, Tessi,' he said and hugged her back, and lightly pecked her little lips. 'Nice kisses.'

'Okay, now that we've all had our cuteness overload for the day, I just wanted to come in and say thank you all so much for being here, really. My mother and Beckett's dad are going to be back shortly with some coffees and stuff, so if you want to hang that's cool but I understand if you need to go and rest, especially you Jenny.'

'Thanks Rick.'

Meredeth brushed her arm over Alexis' arm. 'If you want, Alexis can come with Javi and Tessi and I to get a nap, maybe a shower if you want.'

'Thanks, Mere,' Alexis smiled as she passed RJ back to their father, 'but I want to stay with my family.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	46. Eye of the Storm

By quarter after nine, Alexis was napping on the cot in the lounge, and Honey-Milk Ryan and Dell had gone home while the others had stayed for coffee and pastry when Jim and Martha brought them in - the neon green box was a dead give away as to where they'd gotten them from. It was a true sign of family inclusion that they would go so far out of their way for something as simple as rolls and sweet breads.

'I sincerely wish your mother's bakery wasn't so far up town, Javier,' Martha said as she smeared whipped cream cheese on a fresh roll. 'Of course, the fact it is means I'm not eating there all the time and expanding my dress size exponentially from such delicious treats.'

'Yum-yum,' Tessi babbled as she nibbled on bits of the bread her mother passed her, and generously held out a bite. 'Mami yum?'

'I'll have some in a minute, princess.'

'I think we need to head out too,' Lanie said on a yawn. 'My dad's got practice with his boys at eight-thirty, and we can't make him late. Tell Kate we'll stop in after lunch with Carey and Violet, okay?'

'Sure, sure.'

'Bye-bye, Lanie.' Tessi waved her little arm. 'Moosh Da-wee, moosh 'Let.'

'I'll give him a kiss for you.'

'My, my she's quite popular with the boys, isn't she?' Martha laughed, sipped her coffee. It'd had been awhile since she'd pulled an all-nighter, but nothing and no one would keep her from her family and welcome the new addition. 'Nineteen months and already such a flirt.'

'She's discovered that giving kisses to people is a sign of affection so she tells everyone to give each other kisses, she even tells me to give Ryan kisses,' Esposito laughed as he bit into a sweet-bun with gusto. 'Her heart belongs to Dell.'

'And now all those slash-fans of Raley and Ochoa in the Nikki Heat series just might get their wishes coming true of a Roach wedding, albeit with different players,' Meredeth added.

'Slash fans?' Jim asked, confused.

'It's a term amongst fan-fiction writers when two straight male characters in a series are interpreted as having a strong homosexual or homoerotic bond.'

'Takes all kinds, I suppose,' he laughed.

Martha waved her pastry in the air regally. 'That's nothing, until you've been to a Grateful Dead concert and listened to those stoners spin theories on the interpretations of _Casey Jones,_ those were some weirdos. Oh, darling,' she said when she saw Castle wander in, 'you're in luck, we saved you some _pan de agua_, did I say that right Javier?'

'Close enough.'

'It's this delicious bread they make at Javier's mother's bakery and I'm enjoying mine with some cream cheese and jam. Just what you need after a long night with Kate.'

'She's sleeping like the dead and RJ's down for the count too. Andrea said he'd sleep probably until nine or so and then they'll have the lactation nurse in to help Kate start breastfeeding.'

'It can be a little frustrating if the baby doesn't latch on right away, but just tell her not to be discouraged,' Meredeth advised. 'It's a learning curve and knowing that it's okay not to know every single little thing is what helps you get through the first steps when you feel like a bumbling idiot.'

Castle nodded, then lifted the lid on the pastry box. 'Got anything in here I can save for Kate once she's allowed to eat?'

'Take the box, there's plenty in there.' Jim uncrossed his legs, still trying to wrap his head around it. He had a grandson, he thought; his little girl, his Joanna's girl, was a mother. 'She's still sleeping?'

'Oh yeah, she was right out of it after RJ came out.'

'Did she need any stitches?'

Castle shook his head. 'She'll be sore no question, but RJ's head wasn't that big.' He paused a moment, realized he was speaking to his father-in-law. 'I don't suppose this is information you'd like to hear, is it?'

'Richard, I watched that girl fight her way into the world, there is very little I can hear about her that makes me squirm. Except for maybe the conception part. That's the one thing a father never wants to hear about his little girl.'

'Tell me about it.' Castle flashed back to New Years, when the Ry-Sposito monster had pointed out to him that Alexis wasn't a virgin anymore; it was a special brand of hell that needed only be visited once in three lifetimes.

He glanced up at the knock on the door, saw Harvey there was a redheaded woman in scrubs who looked more like a model than a medical professional. 'Oh hey, Doc, how's it going?'

'Fine, thank you, glad to see you're getting something to eat, which is why I wanted to come and find you.' Harvey patted the redhead on the shoulder. 'This is Jude Samson, she is the lactation nurse. She's on her way to see Kate and RJ and help her get started with breastfeeding.'

Castle dusted the crumbs from his hands, then gave his mother a kiss on the forehead and Jim a squeeze of the shoulder before he followed Harvey and Jude down to Beckett's room. He shoved open the door, and saw his gorgeous girl already awake and murmuring to RJ in his bassinet.

'So we get to the museum and who do I find there already, but Daddy talking to Mister Bentley, and Daddy was acting so silly, RJ, you just wouldn't believe it.'

'Telling stories about our exploits together already?'

Beckett glanced up, smiled with tired eyes as she put a hand on RJ's little tummy. 'And there he is himself. What's in the box?'

'Breakfast.'

'Tell me it's a double cheeseburger with bacon from Remy's and some sweet potato fries.'

'Close. Mother and Jim went uptown to the Salamander Bakery and brought back tasty treats.'

'Why not just go to Bleecker Street? It's a lot closer.'

'Probably because the Salamander up in Spanish Harlem is Javi's mother's place and she can share the news about out little prince with her in person.'

Beckett nodded. 'Makes perfect sense. What about Alexis?'

'Napping in the lounge with Meredeth and Javi. She hasn't left once.'

'Hear that, RJ? That's one great big sister you've got.'

Beckett turned, adjusted her bed so she was sitting a little more upright. The three hours she'd been asleep had felt like an eternity, and when she'd awoken a few minutes before, she'd seen the note from her husband he was in the lounge to see if there were still visitors there, and to hear RJ cooing in his sleep. She'd pulled the bassinet close on its wheels and decided to tell him a little bit about his daddy. The space between her thighs where her beautiful miracle had come from hurt like a mother-fucker; she doubted she'd be able to walk straight for at least a week. But one look at her boy had told her she'd have done it no other way, well, unless the doctor said it was unsafe.

She planted her feet on the bed as Harvey pulled back the sheets to do a quick exam on that tender area, and despite her discomfort he nodded in approval.

'You're already bruising up a little, Kate, that's an excellent sign.'

'It is?'

'Yes, you'll feel a little abused in that area for the next few days for sure but the bruises mean the healing process has started. No ice packs or heating pads, though, you have to let it heal on its own. If you're really in pain in two weeks, when I do my post-natal check-up on you, let me know or come into the clinic.'

His pager went off and he nodded. 'And that would be another little citizen of New York about to make his or her appearance. I'll be back later to have a look in on you. In the meantime, Jude is going to help you with giving RJ a bite to eat.'

As if on cue, hearing this phrase, RJ began to fuss and stir, his little face screwed up in a hungry cry as he poked his little pink tongue out between his lips.

'Okay, you see this face,' Jude explained as she picked up the baby to put him in his mother's arms, 'this called rooting, but we also colloquially call it the fish-face. And you want to find a position for your baby that's comfortable for you both.'

Castle watched with pride as Beckett drank it in, no pun intended, on how to hold their baby boy so he could feed properly. His son, he thought with such amazement as he watched the two of them together. When he heard Beckett's little giggle as RJ latched on while she held him like a little wriggly football against her body, he was absolutely shocked his heart didn't just give out from all the love inside it. He had the most beautiful wife and daughter in the world, and a son to go with them.

There was a knock on the door, and Alexis poked her head in. 'Daddy?'

'Hey, Lexie, did you get some rest?'

'Uh-huh.' She yawned widely. 'Honey-Milk texted me and wanted to know if I'd be able to watch Dell for her when she comes in tomorrow for her C-section. I told her I'd check with you first.'

'Of course, honey, whatever she needs. She's been a great help to your mom and me and we never skimp on opportunities for good karma.'

Alexis nodded and glanced over to where Beckett was nursing RJ. 'Between Violet and RJ and the new Ryan, it's going to be a very busy Christmas. I hope Meredeth buys the really big turkey,' she commented as she texted Honey-Milk back.

Over in Clinton, Honey-Milk lifted her head off her pillow as she saw Alexis had returned her text. _Whatever you need, I'm here._ With a relieved sigh, she cuddled back down against her husband's comforting arms; he'd become a very cuddly sleeper as she'd gotten bigger. It had been quite the busy night, and not just for Beckett. Honey-Milk had spent much of the time trying to not freak out at the idea she would have another baby to look after shortly. She supposed it was a natural panic to have, something she'd seen with her patients who were having twins or triplets and in one rare instance, quads.

Thank god he was doing the same thing he'd done when Dell was born and taking some parental leave time. She now understood a little better the hell that her own patients and her friends had gone through when Violet, Tessi and RJ had been overdue. But at least being officially on her mat-leave meant she could sleep almost whenever she wanted. Since Dell's sugar was under much better control she didn't have to stress so much about keeping such a rigid schedule for his eating habits.

She was awoken a few hours later by a tight, familiar squeeze in her abdomen. Sitting up, she pressed her hands to her sides and began to count softly aloud. Lying back on her back and staring at the ceiling, she let her mind drift as she mental tried to play a piece of music in her mind. She felt it again, and glanced at her bedside clock. Fourteen minutes, she thought, and once again marshaled her mental powers of concentration to make sure she wouldn't stare the clock down. When she felt it a third, fourth and fifth time, she knew it was time to wake up her husband, who was fast asleep beside her.

'Kev,' she whispered, shaking his shoulder.

'Not now, honey, I'm too tired.'

'Kevin, I think I'm having contractions.'

'I'm up.' His head lifted off the pillow like a marionette had pulled the connecting strings. He twisted to his side to face her, put his hand on the enormous mountain of her belly. 'You're sure?'

'I've been time them for over an hour. They're regular and consistent, about fourteen minutes apart.'

'Okay, um, is there still the pressing need to get you to the hospital?'

'Yeah, Harvey said to still treat it like a vaginal birth, come in, get my paperwork signed, get hooked up to the monitors.' Honey-Milk smiled at him. 'Here we go again.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	47. Round Two Begins Now

'Dell.'

'No, I suh-leepin'.'

'Dell, we have to go back to the hospital.'

Dell, cozy in his bed and jammies with his rex faithfully tucked under his arm, snorted and squinted at his father. 'Why we hafta go back?'

'Because it's Mama's turn to have a baby now.'

At this news, Dell sat up like he'd been shot from a canon, whipped back his dino-footprints duvet. 'I gotta put on my cuh-lothes and I will be ready very soon. Tell Mama to hold in the baby.'

'Easy, killer,' Ryan laughed as his son stripped out of his pjs. 'We have a little bit of time, don't rush, don't hurt yourself. Where are your syringes?'

'My needles are on the duh-resser.' Dell pulled out a pair of pants and a sweater from his bureau, pulled them on before he went in search of socks. 'I don't know where my back-pack is.'

Ryan found socks for his son and helped him get it together by sitting him on the edge of the bed and putting them on for him. 'Listen, I know you're excited, but Mama's feeling a little scared, so I need you to be a big boy for me and if I get loud or yell, it's because I'm scared too.'

'But you're a policeman, Daddy. You not-a-spose to get suh-cared.'

'Believe me I do. But I know you'll be a big boy for me today, right?' Ryan held up his fingertips and smiled when his boy fed the birds with him. 'That's my little man.'

Dell took a deep breath as he grabbed for his rex. He was so excited for his little brother or sister here, but he also knew from listening to his mother that babies being born was a very important business and that staying out of the way so the grown-ups could do that important work was what good big brothers did. 'Daddy, I will make you puh-roud of me today.'

'That's what Mama likes to hear.'

Ryan glanced over, saw Honey-Milk there with nerves in her eyes and a smile on her lips. 'You called a cab?'

'Better, I called Meredeth. She's on her way over with Tessi while Javi sleeps since he's on the night shift with Newman.'

'Remind me to buy her diamonds,' he laughed, taking Dell by the hand. 'You ready?'

'Ready, Daddy, time to go have a baby!'

'I meant Mama, but sure.'

* * *

The process for admitting Honey-Milk to the hospital was a little different than Dell's birth, as it was a different birthing process this time around; for one because she was technically a surgical patient, there were additional forms for insurance to fill out. But the process of being escorted up to the maternity ward was the same - sitting in the wheelchair as the orderly tried to keep her mind focused while she breathed through a contraction.

She made it upstairs with her husband while Meredeth had tended to Dell, and he'd helped her into the scratchy gown, arranged her bags and her things while she use the bathroom in her suite; it had happened when Dell was born as well that a preemptive leak made her somehow calmer.

'Hey, you know what?'

'What?'

'Beckett's room is just a few doors down, I bet we can go and visit once Harvey comes in to check on me.'

'Jenny, you need to save your energy for the birth itself. You've been in surgical deliveries too, you know it's just as draining as a vaginal one,' Andrea reminded her hooking her up to the fetal monitor. 'Also, you are now on dietary restrictions, nothing for at least eight hours.'

Honey-Milk picked up Ryan's hand, kissed it so her lips brushed his wedding ring. 'Why don't you go and see where Meredeth and our son are?'

'I have a good idea.'

Before Ryan could zip over to Beckett's room, Harvey walked in with Nurse Brick. He imagined being a baby-doctor was a lot like being a homicide cop, as those who'd sworn an oath, whether Hippocratic or to swerve and protect, kept very odd working hours indeed. But Harvey have been able to catch a few hours of shut eye or he had an excellent few doses of coffee to keep him going, for his tone was just as bright as it had been the previous night when he'd been attending to Beckett.

'Hello, Nurse Ryan, Detective. Where is the big brother to be?'

'Visiting with Kate and RJ.'

'Ah, yes, well, contrary to how it appears, I don't believe we are going to have a new Castle and a new Ryan on the same day.'

'Excuse me, Harvey, but it's barely one in the afternoon.'

'Yes and because Jenny is not in any distress, nor is the foetus, we prefer to wait about eight hours in order to ensure that her digestive track is cleared. The reason being, if any of the medication causes Jenny to be vomiting, there is the risk that she could aspirate it into her lungs.'

'And obviously we don't want that,' Ryan agreed, his own stomach clenching in anxiety.

'Right now, Andrea's going to go and pick up your IV bags and Brick is going to go over your anesthesia options.'

'Dan's one of three nurse anesthetists on staff, he's better than some of the actual anesthesiologists but that's me,' Honey-Milk told her husband as the giant of a man, who made Castle look like a chihuahua, pulled up a chair on the other side of Honey-Milk, clipboard in hand. 'But we generally refer to him as a surgical nurse to keep the patients at ease so they don't freak out.'

'And to that end, how are you feeling so far, Jenny?' Brick asked.

'Freaked,' she laughed. 'So weird to be on the other side of the clipboard, you know?'

'So we'll get right to it then. In about three hours, you'll be given a dose of painkillers to allow the body time to adjust itself. Your birth plan says you're choosing epidural, not spinal block?'

'That's correct.'

Brick made a note as he nodded, then continued. 'Okay, your epidural will come about two hours after that, then a final round of painkillers in the form of your local anesthetic that will numb the area where the incision is going to be made about an hour before the surgery. Once you're in the delivery room, you'll get the final anesthetic, which will numb you from the top of your ribcage downward.'

'I'll still feel some of it though, won't I?' Honey-Milk squeezed her husband's hand a little tighter.

'A bit of tugging because we need to pull the baby out swiftly.'

She blew out a shaky breath, and nodded. 'Right.'

'You'll be just fine, Jenny. Now, Detective, may I call you Kevin?' Brick asked politely, turning his attention to the anxious daddy-to-be.

'Sure.'

'Kevin, you'll be in the delivery room with Honey-Milk so after she is given her final anesthetic before the delivery room, you'll change into scrubs. Once we are in the delivery room you will stay up by your wife's head to keep her calm and focused.'

'Can I hold her hand?'

'Of course.' Brick finished making notes, checked his wrist watch. 'I am going to check on your lab work and Andrea should be up in a few minutes to set up your IV.'

He made a couple of notes on the chart and gave his colleague a friendly, supportive pat on the knee before leaving, nearly bumping into Andrea on his way out; it didn't go unnoticed by the cop or the nurse that the contact had Andrea blushing red as a pomegranate. 'Okay mama,' she said in a bright tone that had Honey-Milk's instincts humming. 'Let's get you hydrated.'

'Andy, what's going on?'

'What?'

'You have a thing going with Dan?'

Andrea sputtered out a laugh as she prepped the IV bags. 'With Dan? What makes you think that?'

'Because you jumped a foot out of your skin when he walked in, and just now when you got back you're blushing as you bump into him.' Honey-Milk was glad for the little drama, anything to distract her from the contractions which thankfully were still mild and far apart. 'You two share a little lip balm or what?'

'Define 'or what'.'

Ryan laughed as the pretty brunette wrinkled her nose and tried to evade the question. 'If I had you in the box for a murder investigation, this is the part where I'd get my partner to go bad cop on you.'

'Well-'

Before Andrea could answer, a small gang appeared at the doorway: Meredeth was pushing Beckett in a wheelchair with RJ in her arms while Alexis held Dell and Tessi's hands. 'Hail, hail, the gang's all here,' Beckett smiled. She was in her own loose draping pjs and RJ was in an adorable blue snugglie with various sized snowflakes on it. He was wide awake and blinked dark eyes the same colour as his father's at the world around him. 'Thought we'd come for a visit.'

'Good timing.'

'Mama, where's the baby?' Dell looked around impatiently, letting go of Alexis's hand and . 'I wanna see him or her.'

'Baby,' Tessi added in the same excited tone.

'The baby's not here yet, little bro,' Ryan told his son, setting him in his lap. 'It's going to take a little bit of time.'

'Tell him or her to hurry up, I have puh-resents to give,' he scolded his father, then looked at his mother. It was funny to see her as the one hooked up to tubes and boxes with numbers that beeped. 'What's that?' he asked, pointing to her IV. 'Why you have ess-tension cords in your arm?'

Honey-Milk laughed. 'They're not extension cords, Dell, they're IV tubes, they help get fluids in your body faster than if you drink them.'

'Like choc-o-late milk?'

'Not quite, like water and something called glucose.'

'That is sugar, right? I know that word.'

'That's right, see, Mama can't eat anything in case her medicine makes her tummy upset,' Ryan explained, 'so the doctors give her the glucose drip to make sure her energy stays up.'

'Like a insulin pump?' Dell asked, using the words he'd learned at his Diabetes for Youngster clinic.

'Similar to that, yeah.'

'Where's Castle at?' Honey-Milk asked, as she felt the beginnings of a contraction hit.

'He went to bring us food. I'm so sick of tea and toast, I told him I want real food so he's bringing fish and chips and Sprite,' Beckett laughed, shifting RJ in her arms. 'Look Ryan,' she said in the voice of an excited little girl, 'I'm a mama.'

'You are indeed and he's a beauty. Alexis he's got your nose,' Ryan added, making the young woman glow with pride.

'Nose,' Tessi added, making they didn't forget about her and patted her own. 'Nose 'mell.'

'Very good Tessi,' Alexis praised her, then picked her up to set her on her hip. 'Okay, time for food, you like coleslaw?'

'Co-sah.'

'Kev.' Honey-Milk gritted her teeth and reached out for his hand as the pressure in her abdomen grew. 'Honey-'

'I'm right here. Dell down you get,' he told his son, and Dell watched fascinated as his mother breathed funny and his daddy rubbed the belly. He heard the monitor beeping and then heard the beeps slow down, making him wrinkle his brow as Honey-Milk's breathing returned to normal.

'Mama, you okay?'

'Yes, Dell, I'm fine,' Honey-Milk reassured her son. 'This is how babies are born.'

'You are very brave.'

'Looks like visiting hours are done,' Meredeth commented and turned Beckett to wheel her out of the room, Alexis following with Tessi still in her arms.

Dell waited until they were gone so he could have a private moment with his parents. He stretched to his tiptoes and gave his mother's tummy a little rub. 'You take it easy on Mama, she's the best and we don't wanna hurt her. I see you soon.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	48. Almost There

The time went a lot quicker when you knew where the finish line was, Honey-Milk thought as she looked around her maternity suite. She'd checked in around three-thirty and she was already miles past two of those major hurdles of drugs she and Ryan had discussed with Brick and Harvey. There had been an endless rotation of visitors: Lanie and Dave were there with Carey and Violet, and Lili and Cam had stopped in for a quick hello before they headed to one of Lili's church choir concerts with Rosie giving the bump a little good-luck pat. Esposito had stopped in to see Meredeth and Tessi on his way to to precinct and had also stopped in for a little pow-wow with his boy that everything would turn out just fine. He'd wanted to stay so badly, but with Beckett, Castle and Ryan all in baby-mode they were short-staffed as it was; Esposito had crossed his heart with the promise he'd stop in on his way home from his shift where he knew he'd probably still find his bride and baby waiting it out in solidarity with the two new mothers. A little while after Esposito's visit, there were calls from Carol and Ike Thornton and Gil and Robina Mazzara, all with wishes of good luck and promises of invitations to the baby showers Beckett and Honey-Milk were both having.

As it had been before, both Ryan parents and her mother were out of the country. This time her mother was visiting Honey-Milk's brother Aiden in Peru where he was on some kind of academic research expedition with other PhD students while Ryan's folks had gone to the mother country for their anniversary to stay in their ancestral home. Both were once in a lifetime opportunities, yet neither of them felt like they were missing anything without them there. They hadn't been in their lives the same way the Espositos or Jim or Martha were, and besides, they had more than enough self-made family showing them love and support.

But all of that noise was just that - background noise as Honey-Milk focused on breathing through her contractions. Her water had broken some time between her first and second rounds of painkillers but when Harvey had given her a quick check, he reassured that it was okay even though the birth wouldn't be vaginal; in some respects it made it safer because there was less risk of cutting the baby through the membrane and the uterine walls. This information while soothing for her had put Ryan more than a little on edge but he proved he had one hell of a poker face and kept it together to be strong for her.

She'd walked around as much as she could, even taken a little stroll up to see Beckett and RJ with Castle and Alexis in her suite, where they were indeed enjoying fish and chips for dinner, and RJ was sending up the call for his own dinner. She'd felt another big contraction hit and so it was back to bed for her and there she'd stay for the remainder of her labour, as the drugs were making her feel a little woozy and lying down was most comfortable for her. Alexis had brought Dell in for another visit and he'd started to cry frightened little tears that his mother would be in pain to have the baby. Thankfully, by that point, Brick had administered her epidural and Ryan had shown Dell by having him gently poke the belly that Honey-Milk couldn't feel it so she wouldn't be in any pain during the operation. Both parents felt zero remorse at telling their son a partial truth, because they knew it would calm him and make him feel less scared.

'It's weird,' she murmured to her husband. 'The last time I felt everything down there, now I feel nothing, like I've been in a cold swimming pool, you know?'

'I think you'll feel it afterward this time around.'

'Kev, did you think I was completely insane for wanting a natural childbirth with Dell?'

'A little bit. But I also understood that it was ultimately your decision since it was your body that was carrying the little dude.' Ryan chuckled. 'He's going to be a great big brother.'

Honey-Milk smiled dreamily. 'Yeah he is.'

'I know that look. What are you thinking about?'

'The night we met.'

'McDougall's. I was coming back from dinner at my sister's place and she'd been bugging me about finding the right girl, a topic when coming out of my sister's mouth always made me head straight the hard liquor, and you were there with Andrea, actually, having a couple of beers. We started talking and I was in such a funk that she had to point it out to me that you were into me.'

'And the funny thing was, I wasn't even putting the moves on you.' Honey-Milk winced, breathed deeply through another contraction; they were getting stronger and stronger while getting closer together. 'You know what the next phase is, right?'

'You mean before you get the Sweeney-Todd style birthing experience? Isn't it more drugs?'

Before Honey-Milk could respond, Andrea came in to check on her patient and this time, there was no mistaking the look on her face. Her cheeks were flushed and her ponytail was a little on the messy side.

'Well, it's that time to get up close and personal, Jenny,' she said, holding up the disposable razor and can of unscented shaving cream. 'Lie back and lift up your gown.'

'I had to make her dinner first,' Ryan joked, then arched an eyebrow as Andrea bent forward to attend to his wife, noticing that the tags of her scrubs shirt were lying flat against her collar and the side-seams of her shirt were raised.

Honey-Milk, despite being in labour, saw it too and couldn't stop the giggle. 'Andy,' she said in a sing-song voice, 'you gonna share?'

'Share what?' she asked blithely, her focus on the task at hand.

'Guess you and Dan have done a little more than kiss and seeing as I don't get to have sex for the next two months, have a heart.'

A muscle twitched in Andrea's jaw. 'What makes you think something like that happened?'

'Your skin's flush, your hair's messy and most tellingly, your top is inside-out,' Ryan pointed out and grinned when he saw the nurse's grip on the razor visibly tighten. 'Nurse Brick, in the on-call room, with a Trojan?'

'Kevin!' Honey-Milk hissed, but there wasn't much heat in it. 'You're embarrassing her.'

'It's not like that, actually. Yes it was Dan, yes it was in the on-call room, but it was just a little handsy, not the kind of thing that got you guys here.' Andrea gestured to Honey-Milk's belly. 'This is our place of business, we're not characters on _Grey's Anatomy_.'

'And yet our boy Brick got a little under-the-shirt action on his break,' Ryan teased her, and Andrea blushed to the shade of a beetroot.

'When did this all happen?' Curiosity piqued, Honey-Milk craned her neck to look over the mound of her belly at her friend.

'Thanksgiving, after you went on mat-leave. We couldn't spend Thanksgiving with our families so we decided on take-out turkey sandwiches, and flipped a coin to decide his place or mine, and there was wine and candles and before I knew it, I was offering to call him a cab home and then we're making out on my couch and he didn't take a cab until the next morning,' she said on a rush, then wiped away the remnants of shaving cream foam from Honey-Milk's area. 'There, clean as a whistle.'

'I think it's adorable. Does anyone else know?'

Andrea shook her head. 'We've been keeping it quiet, since we do work together, though I'm only a back-up for Harvey and work with you most of the time. Being in different departments helps.'

'Well, I sincerely hope it works out for you.'

'Oh, and his name, Brick? Suits him _all_ over,' Andrea said with a little wink, then closed her mouth when she saw the man in question had returned, trying just as hard as Andrea had not to look so satisfied with himself; he carried a set of scrubs along with Honey-Milk's patient chart and a pre-measured capped syringe. 'Nurse Brick, the patient is prepped and ready for her final dose of medication.'

'Good, good, also, you might want to check your uniform in the ladies' room, Andrea, I think your top's got something on it,' he said with a little glimmer in his eye as he tugged as his own V-neck collar. When Andrea slipped out, Brick took one look at Honey-Milk's gleeful grin and shook his head. 'You couldn't resist, could you?'

'Daniel, the only thing that flies around a hospital quicker than the germs is the gossip. Turkey sandwiches, huh?'

'I'll take the high road and not make the requisite breast-meat jokes.'

'It's not just a sex thing, though, right? You're in it to win it?'

Brick glanced over to make sure he still had a few seconds as he gave Honey-Milk the necessary injection. 'She's the best woman I've ever met and I'm not letting her go.'

The door of the suite's bathroom opened and Andrea came out looking a little more together. 'Andrea, make a note on the chart, Jenny has received her final round of pre-op drugs, which means it's time to suit-up, bro,' he said to Ryan.

'Already?'

'It's almost midnight, man, we're going to be delivery this baby within the hour. I took the liberty of guessing your size, though truth be told unless you're six-three and two-fifty like me, they're a one-size kind of deal.'

'We'll give you two some privacy,' Andrea added, with a subtle tap on Brick's forearm. 'Would you like to see your son before you go in?'

'Yes,' Honey-Milk replied at once. 'He's either in the lounge or Kate Castle's room.'

'Got it.'

Andrea popped out and Ryan stood up, cleared his throat to move past Brick, whose eyes had been focused on Andrea's caboose as she left the room. 'Subtlety, bro,' Ryan laughed, 'it's all about subtlety.'

'Right. Okay, I'm going to go find Harvey and let him know it shouldn't be too long now.'

'Thanks Dan.'

'No problem.'

Alone for the first time that day, Honey-Milk gave a short grunt as she felt another contraction hit. This baby seemed to know it wasn't coming out the same way its brother had and so was saving up its kicks and jabs. She didn't have much time to dwell on the ideas of scalpels and cold metal in the delivery room, as Andrea came back with Alexis, who was somehow still awake and an extremely wrung-out looking Dell, who raced over to his mother's side.

'Mama, you okay, you aren't hurting at all?' he asked worriedly.

'No, sweetheart, I'm just fine.'

'I don't want you to hurt.' His lower lip trembled, though by now Honey-Milk suspected his tears were those of being overtired more than being frightened.

'Hey little bro.' Ryan came out, dressed in the acid-green scrubs Brick had brought him, his clothes folded in his hands. 'You getting excited, the doctor says the baby's going to be coming very soon.'

'I...I don't want it.'

'What?'

Dell walked over to his father, stretching up his arms to be lifted. 'I don't want the baby if it's going to hurt Mama,' he whimpered, big fat tears rolling down his cheeks.

'Oh, Delaney, it's okay, the doctors gave Mama lots of medicine so it doesn't. Come on, now.' Ryan swiped the blade of his hand over his son's face. 'Remember? We poked the belly and Mama didn't feel a thing.'

'You promise?'

'Cross my heart.'

'Okay.' Dell sniffled pitifully, then thumped his head against his daddy's shoulder. 'I am sorry for cuh-rying, I am not a sucky-boy.'

'No,' Ryan laughed softly, 'you are definitely not a sucky-boy. You're a brave little boy who is very, very tired.'

'I wanna wait up for my baby.'

'I know you do, sweetheart.'

As Ryan comforted his son while sharing a look with his wife, Harvey and Brick both came back in followed by two orderlies. They moved to Honey-Milk's bed and attached her IV bags to the pole attached to her bed, unlocked the wheels. 'It's time.'

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R&R&Enjoy!


	49. Little Ryan

_Hello once again everyone, I'm so excited to see these reviews still keep pouring in for this installment of the Crumbsverse. Now it's time for a little bit different birth-story and I've tried to do as much research as possible to make sure this is a realistic, if not medically accurate, portrayal of a surgical birth. And also, welcome Crumbsian baby #8!_

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Honey-Milk looked up at her husband, who smiled at Dell, patted his back.

'Hear that, big guy? It's time for Mama to go and have the baby.'

'Really?' Even in his exhausted state, Dell's eyes shone with excitement. 'Lemme down, puh-lease Daddy.'

Once on his feet, he went over to his mother, gave her two kisses. 'One for you and one for my baby. You gonna be fine, Mama, I love you.'

'I love you too, honey.'

Honey-Milk patted his cheek and watched as Alexis scooped him up, stroked his hair gently to take him back to the lounge or to Beckett and RJ's room. Her boy, she thought, what a tough little nut he was, even when he thought he was being a big wuss. Comforted in the knowledge her son was looked after, she flicked her gaze up to her husband, who'd tucked their still camera into his pocket, as they began to move from the maternity suite across the sky-walk to the delivery room.

'I'm scared.'

'Don't be, you'll be amazing,' he reassured her, his hand covering hers on the railing of her bed; the words were as much to reassure her as himself.

They went through the doors and immediately Ryan was hit by the smell of antiseptic soap. He saw Brick, with his Power-Rangers scrub-cap, sterilize his hands before another nurse came over and put on his mask and gloves for him, then Harvey. When he came out of the wash-room the giant of a nurse handed Ryan a mask and a scrub-cap of his own as the others laid Honey-Milk flat on her back on the surgical table and Ryan was amazed at the man's tenderness as he gently lifted up Honey-Milk's head to put the shower-cap covering over her hair.

'There we go, Jenn, nice and tidy,' he told her in a very comforting tone, proving to Ryan once more that appearances could be very deceiving. The last thing he would have picked this hulking man for was pre-natal care and yet his presence was like a big teddy-bear. 'Kevin, here, got you a front-row seat,' he added, motioning to the chair by Honey-Milk's head. 'We've got the catheter in place, and I've got your stash ready to go, so I'm going to push it now and we'll be ready to go shortly.'

Honey-Milk nodded, then tensed as she felt her arms being secured while the other nurses set up the curtain as much to keep the field clear as for her own privacy and sanity. 'Wait, I thought you said Kevin could hold my hand.'

'I know and I'm sorry, but we need to keep your arms secure during the procedure so you don't get in the way.'

'No.' Now the fear crept in; she could handle the idea of being awake for the surgery so long as she didn't see it happening but being strapped down like an animal was too much. 'Daniel, no. Jim,' she pleaded as she saw her doctor approach her, tying on his mask. She used his first name to try and get through to him. 'Jim, please don't tie me down, I'm not going to reach out and poke something. Me of all people knows better than that.'

'I'll make sure she doesn't touch anything,' Ryan offered, his innate protectiveness beginning to show while the nurse laid a clean white cloth over his wife's shoulders then moved the blue curtain across so it look like Honey-Milk was participating in a magic show.

'Nurse Brick, I think we'll be okay with just the IV arm fastened, on the promise that you keep her hand in yours, no matter how much she might fight you,' Harvey conceded.

'You got it.' Ryan picked up his wife's hand, threaded his fingers through hers and squeezed tightly. 'I don't care if you grind my bones to make your bread, I'm not going anywhere.'

The bargain appeared to satisfy Brick as he nodded, then went over to a tray and picked up what looked like a long thin stick of pencil lead, then lowered it behind the curtain. 'Jenny, can you feel this?'

'Feel what?'

'What about this?'

Realizing he was testing the anesthetic, Honey-Milk shook her head. 'Nope.'

'And this?'

'Nada.',

Brick nodded, his pale blue eyes crinkling at the corners behind his mask. 'And you're not requesting any sedation at this time to relax you? Going once, going twice.'

'I'm good, Dan.' Honey-Milk turned to her husband, stared into the pure blue of his eyes. 'Let's do this thing.'

Honey-Milk squeezed Ryan's hand tightly, tried to drown out the sounds of the medical instruments, then heard Harvey's voice.

'Okay, Jenny to take five deep breaths for me. Kevin you count them down, ten seconds each.'

Ryan nodded, then looked at his girl, staring her down like Wiley-E Coyote honing in on the Road-runner; she'd always had a thing for Looney-Tunes shorts. 'Big one in and out. And another one.'

They worked through the breathing exercise, Honey-Milk making faces at him the entire time. 'I can feel it,' she muttered through gritted teeth. 'Not pain, but a lot of pressure and tugging, like Dan said.'

'Looks like we kept our promise to Dell,' he replied.

'Jenny you're doing splendid, there's no complications here or bleeders, just a very healthy baby about to come out,' Harvey told them.

'Kevin, you want to stand up, we're about to take the baby out,' Brick added. 'You want to see?'

'Yeah.'

Ryan stood up and steeling himself, looked past the curtain, forced himself not to make the connection between his wife wide awake and the open body cavity on the table. He watched as Harvey made the next incision and in a few moments later, the tiny little human was out of Honey-Milk's body.

'Oh my god, Jenny, it's here,' he told his wife, never letting go of her hand. 'Oh it's beautiful.'

'What is it?'

'Congratulations, you have a beautiful, healthy baby girl.'

'A girl?' Honey-Milk could feel her eyes filling up a little. 'A little girl?'

'Yes,' Harvey nodded, placed the clamps for the umbilical cord. 'Ryan you want to do the honours?'

Ryan reached over and snipped the little tube, then furrowed his brow. 'She's not crying.'

'She will in a moment, we need to give her a little suction first. Bulb syringe, please.'

Brick passed him the odd-shaped bit of tubing and in a few seconds, the delivery room was filled with the shrill wail of the newest Ryan. He reached for a blanket and loosely wrapped the kicking baby in it, passed her to her waiting daddy.

'She's a kick-boxer for sure,' he laughed, adjusted his hold for his daughter. 'Hey you, Miss Noisy. What is up, little sister?'

The newborn continued to wail, so Ryan set himself back down in the chair gently so Honey-Milk could see their baby. With her free hand, she reached out and melted when the baby caught the tip of her index finger on a wild swing, lungs in full force.

'Hi there, darling,' she crooned, 'you remember me? It's Mama, my little angel.'

The baby's cries died instantly and she squinted her little eyes, trying to focus on the source of that soothing, sweet voice. Ryan felt his body shudder and tried to fight the reflex to break down into sobs. Instead he kept his tone light and murmuring.

'That's right, that's Mama, and I'm Daddy, and you'll get to meet your big brother Dell very soon. He's so excited to meet you.'

Andrea, who'd been working in the background on preparing the post-delivery instruments, came over to quietly take a few pictures of the newborn with her parents, then rested her hand gently on Ryan's shoulder. 'I need to get her weighed and measured, Kevin, do you want to come with me or stay here with Jenny?'

'Uh...' Ryan was torn; he wanted to do both. 'Is it going to take long?'

'No, and I can give you the stats once we get her tidied up.'

'Then I'd like to stay here while they close my wife up.'

'Andrea, if you look in the bottom of the cart by Nurse Brick's anesthesia station, you'll find your additional supplies,' Harvey told her as the nurse scooped the baby out of Ryan's arms. 'Jenny you did just great, but we've got about another thirty minutes or so here that we'll need to close your incision.'

'Why so long?' Ryan asked, reaching over for the still camera.

'We need to make sure the placenta is out and that there is no other amniotic fluid in the cavity. You'll be getting a small transfusion in post-op, Jenny, to keep your iron up, and in the mean-time, Baby Girl Ryan is going to hang out with Daddy in the nursery. You'll need about an hour in recovery and once you're out, we'll get you to try and get you breastfeeding as soon as possible.'

'Kev, can you get a few pictures of the baby?' Honey-Milk asked, patting at him with her free arm.

'Of course, Jenn. Whatever you want, my love.'

He rose and took the digital camera over to Andrea's station, where Dell's little snowflake had calmed a little but was still whimpering away. 'I know, sweetie-pie,' he cooed at his daughter. 'Everything's bright and loud, and not nearly as cozy as being inside Mama's belly, huh? What's the stats so far?'

'She is a beautiful baby girl born at twelve-twenty-four am on December third and she is eight pounds on the nose, or three point six-two-nine kilos. Length is seventeen point six inches, or forty-four point zero-seven centimeters. Do you have a name yet?'

'No. We want our son to help us name her. For now, you can just put 'snowflake' on the card. It's what Dell has been calling the baby.'

'Okay, Snowflake Ryan it is.'

Ryan continued to take a few more shots, even getting one where the little girl's butt began to ooze the black sludge his wife had called meco-something or other. He knew it was part and parcel of being such a new thing, but it didn't stop it from being more than a little gross. 'Better out than in, darling,' he said as she wailed away while Andrea tidied up her little bottom and fixed on her newborn-sized nappie. 'And now, the finishing touches.'

The nurse grinned when she put the baby in the little white onsie, then pulled out of the box a yellow blanket with dark blue number twelves all over it. The sight of it made Ryan burst into laughter.

'Where did you find that?'

'Jenny told me how she did this for all the Twelfth Precinct babies she's helped deliver in the last few years and she gave me the website in passing one day, so I ordered it for her.' She added the little yellow hat with the NYPD crest in blue to match the blanket. 'There we are, Cadet Ryan, reporting for duty.'

Ryan snapped a few more photos, then brought the baby back over to Honey-Milk who began to laugh at the sight of the blanket.

'Andrea, you didn't!'

'I did, even when you're the one having the baby, you need to keep tradition going.'

'Hi darling, look at you all dressed up,' she murmured at her little girl. 'Wow, you are just too precious for words, yes you are.'

'I know, she's the most beautiful girl I've ever met. Well, tied for first,' Ryan amended, leaning over to give Honey-Milk a kiss. 'Way to go, Mama.'

'Thanks for the help, Daddy.'

'We're just about finished here,' Harvey told them, 'and Brick is going to give you a sedative so we can take you into recovery, okay Jenny?'

'Uh-huh. And the baby?'

'She's going to the nursery for an hour, to make sure everything's on the up-and-up. She'll be waiting for you when you're out of recovery.'

The word _waiting_ had Honey-Milk blinking at her husband. 'Go and tell Dell, Kev. I'm sure he's worried himself into sugar-shock by now.'

'No kidding.' He gave her one last kiss. 'I love you, Jennifer.'

'I love you too Kevin.'

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R&R&Enjoy.


	50. A Family Decision

The knock-out drugs Harvey and Brick gave Honey-Milk worked like little magic pills, and she was asleep before Ryan even left the room. He thought about having a seat on the bench and having himself a moment of total breakdown but knew there were people counting on him to deliver good news as soon as he could, so it would have to wait. With his wife sedated and on her way to the recovery ward and his little girl on her way to the nursery, Ryan stripped off his protective medical accessories and walked like a zombie across the sky walk. On a hunch, stopped at Beckett and RJ's room and knocked.. It was answered by Alexis, with her earbuds dangling from one ear.

'Hey,' she said in a hushed whisper. 'You giving us an update?'

'Where's Dell?'

Alexis opened the door wider, held a finger to her lips. 'Dad went to get snacks for everyone and Mom just finished feeding RJ, so we're all napping.'

Ryan glanced over and saw his friend had cuddled Dell up beside her on the bed. His little hands were curled into the bedsheets and he was facing the bassinet, as if to keep a sleep eye on him.

'Dell insisted he stay awake and wait for you, but he was just too tuckered out.'

'How long has he been out?'

'Maybe forty-five minutes at most.'

'Thanks, Lex.' Ryan reached down, helped Dell into his arms. before he sat down in a chair. 'Dell? Hey, you in there, little man?'

'Daddy?' Dell recognized the scent of his father's skin, his heartbeat nearby. 'That you?'

'Yes it is.'

'Mm.' Dell rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands, yawned. 'I feel icky. I am very tired.'

'I know you are, but I thought you might like to come and see your baby.'

'My baby's here?'

'Yep.'

'And Mama's okay?'

'She's just great. She didn't even cry.'

'She is very brave.' Dell woke up a little at this news, smacked his lips together. 'Where is my baby?'

'We have to take a little walk to the nursery.'

'Okay.' Dell scooted out of Ryan's lap, gave Lex a hug around her knees. 'Thank you Lexie. Give RJ a big hug for me when he wakes up for his next suh-nack, okay?'

'Sure thing.'

Delll smiled, then slipped his hand into his father's and they walked out together, across the sky-walk to the nursery. 'Daddy, why you wearin' those? They look like Mama's work cuh-lothes.'

'Because when the doctors took Mama into the delivery room, they said I had to wear this to make sure everything in the room stayed clean.'

'Why?'

'So the baby or Mama doesn't get an infection.'

'Oh. Like when Mama puts a band-aid on my finger tack?'

'Something like that.'

They walked up to the glass of the nursery and Ryan picked his boy up, put him on his hip. 'Guess which one is yours?'

Dell scanned the see of little faces, then smiled when he saw the blanket with the number 12s. He put his finger to the glass. 'That one.'

'That's right, that's the newest Ryan. Can you read what the tag says?'

'No.' He squinted and shook his head. 'It's too far away.'

'Then let's go have a look.'

Ryan dropped Dell to his feet and hand-in-hand, they walked into the nursery where Andrea was at the counter writing up a chart. She glanced up, smiled when she saw the new big brother. 'Hey there, Dell.'

'Hi, Andy, I found my baby in the guh-lass. We can visit for a little bit?'

'Of course. Ryan go take a seat in the rocking chair.'

The detective did as he was instructed, Dell standing beside him at the perfect height for a peek. He waited with anxious breath as Andrea wheeled the plastic-sided bassinet over, lowered the sides. 'Now, remember Dell, the baby's very little so we have to be quiet and gentle.'

'I can do that. I am the best big buh-rother ever.'

'Here we are.' Andrea placed the little bundle into Ryan's arms and Dell stretched to his tiptoes to see the new addition. 'I'll let you have a a few minutes alone.'

Ryan nodded, adjusted his hold so that his son could have a look. 'Dell, this is your little sister.'

'A si-suh-ter? I have a little si-suh-ter?'

'Yes you do, she was born at twelve-twenty-four in the morning.'

'She is a very early bird.' Dell studied the little porcelain-pink face with the long lashes and nose like his. Her hands were encased in little newborn mittens and tucked up near her face. 'Daddy, she is perfect. What is her name?'

'Mama and I haven't decided yet, we want you to help us. Right now, we're calling her snowflake.'

'Heehee, that's what I called her inside Mama's belly. Where is Mama?'

'She is in recovery so her incision has time to heal and she can get some rest.'

'What's a 'cision?'

'_In-_cision, Dell, it's the word doctors use when they make a cut to do an operation.'

'And then they need suh-titches, like when Kelley bump her lip on the coffee table.'

'Exactly.' Ryan stood up, the little snowflake in his arms. 'Would you like to hold her?'

Dell nodded and sat in the chair so his butt hit the back, wiggled a little to make sure he wouldn't slip. He held out his arms and Ryan gently put the baby there; it was amazing how the boy adjusted himself to hold his sister, crooking his elbow to support her little head. As Ryan took a few pictures, she began to fuss and he nearly took the baby back until Dell began to sing to her softly.

'I'm singin' in the rain, just singin' in the rain, what a 'lorious feelin' I'm happy again.'

'Where'd you learn that one?' Ryan asked.

'Meredeth. She was makin' cookies one afternoon when I was visitin' my Tessi and it was rainin' really hard and she taught me to sing it.'

'Well, this little girl definitely knows your voice,' he commented, amazed at how the baby quieted down. He glanced up when Andrea wandered over. 'Time for a check-up?'

'Yes, and then time to go visit Mama. Dan paged me and said she's out of post-op, still sleeping but in her room now.'

'Bye-bye, suh-now-fuh-lake,' Dell said to the baby, giving her a kiss on the cheek before Andrea scooped her up. 'We will come and see you soon, we hafta go tell everyone you are here safe and sound. Come on, Daddy.'

He grabbed Ryan's hand and tugged on it towards the skywalk, and Ryan had to take a moment to be in awe of his son. He was definitely going to be cranky in the morning but the excitement of his new little sister was outweighing the fatigue right now. He stopped short so that Ryan almost tripped over him when he was outside a particular door.

'What is it, Dell?'

'That is Katie and RJ's room, you think they are suh-till up or we should keep goin' to the other room?'

'The other room, Kate's just as tired as Mama right now.'

'Okay.'

When they arrived at the lounge, they saw the die-hards were still there - Lanie was sitting on the cot that had been there that morning for Honey-Milk, giving Violet her midnight snack while Carey was tucked up beside her like a little snoozing puppy. Meredeth and Tessi were napping upright in a chair, and much to his surprise, Esposito was beside them, listlessly paging through the television stations.

'Ah-suh-cuse me everyone one,' Dell said in a surprisingly authoritative voice.

Those napping were awoken and all turned to look at Dell, who was glowing with pride by the lounge door. 'You got some news for us, little bro?' Esposito asked, muting the TV.

'Uh-uh, I am not a little buh-ro anymore, I am a big buh-ro. I have a little si-suh-ter now,' he declared and everyone cheered as they came in the room. 'She is very little but she is beautiful and she doesn' have a name yet because Daddy said we are gonna pick one out together.'

'Dell?' Tessi, the heaviest sleeper of all the little ones, stirred at the sound of her friend's voice. 'Mama, Dell baby?'

'Yes, princess, Dell's baby is here.'

'Boy? Gull?'

'It's a little girl, Tessi.' Dell bounded over and gave her a hug while Ryan continued to accept congratulations from his own friends. 'I have a little si-suh-ter, can you say si-suh-ter?'

'Sisser.'

'That's a very good tuh-ry.' He kissed her little forehead, then yawned. 'Daddy, I am tired again, can I lie down?'

'Go for it.'

'Here.' Since she'd finished nursing her four-month old and was ready to burp her, Lanie stood up still covered by her baby blanket. 'Dell, why don't you snuggle up beside Carey there and I'll take a chair with Miss Gobble-Guts here.'

'Thank you Lanie.'

'So no name yet?' Meredeth shifted Tessi on her lap. 'Just Baby Girl Ryan?'

'Snowflake Ryan for now, kinda like how we called Carey the gumball.' Ryan sighed, felt his chest hitch. 'My daughter, she is just gorgeous. My daughter.'

'No chance of a visit just yet?'

'No. They're very strict about C-section patients and babies getting too overloaded. Where'd you come from, by the way, bro?' Ryan asked Esposito. 'Thought you were on surveillance?'

'I was. Nabbed our guy, he cried lawyer and the warrant for his place won't go through until ten am tomorrow morning and I was just about to head home when Meredeth called me and said Honey-Milk had gone into delivery.'

'Hey.'

They all glanced up to see Castle pushing Beckett and RJ in their wheelchair into the lounge, also looking tired but slightly more refreshed Over his shoulder was a couple of cloth grocery bags that held presumably held the snacks his daughter had mentioned. 'Alexis said we've got another little duchess in our mix, huh?' he said with a smile as he set the brakes on the wheelchair. 'How is everyone doing?'

'Fantastic.' Ryan gave his friends a smile, then checked his watch. 'She should be back in her room by now. Dell, I know you just got cozy, but you want to go and see Mama and the baby?'

'Yes!'

Dell was up like a jack-in-the-box, and the two Ryan men were off again, down the hall to Honey-Milk's room. Ryan gently shoved open the door and sure enough, Honey-Milk and the baby were both there, the new mother awake and groggy while the little girl napped in her arms.

'Hey you,' he said softly. 'I thought you'd be asleep.'

'I was, they let me sleep an extra fifteen minutes in post-op.'

Ryan blinked. 'Has it been an hour already?'

'Mm-hmm, and we have some important business to take care of.' Honey-Milk smiled at her boys. 'We need a name for this little girl.'

'What were the ones we'd thought of?'

'Camilla and Bernadette, but those just don't seem to fit.'

'I know, we need something amazing for her, don't we?'

'What about naming her after your mom, since we named Dell after my father?' Ryan suggested.

'Agatha Ryan? I like that, but Agatha feels like a middle name for a little girl in this day and age, you know?' Honey-Milk looked over at her son, who'd clambered up by her feet and was sitting cross-legged on the end of the bed. 'What do you think Dell?'

'Mallory Agatha Ryan. I like that.'

'You're really stuck on that name aren't you?'

'It's pretty.'

'Mallory Agatha Ryan.' Honey-Milk looked at her daughter, and her boys. 'Mallory Agatha Ryan. I think that sounds absolutely perfect.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	51. Hey Neighbour

'Mom?'

'Yeah, Lex.'

'Does that feel really weird?'

Beckett laughed as she looked down at her baby boy, who was cradled in a football hold as he enjoyed his six-thirty am snack. 'There's no way to explain it, Alexis, it's just one of those things you'll have to experience for yourself. When you're graduated and married, of course.'

'I think I want a big family.'

'You think so?'

Alexis nodded. 'I used to think that no family was too big or too little. Then Ryan got married and everything change and one of the best changes is that Meredeth came into our lives and began having those big holiday dinners. You know my first two years of school that was the only thing that kept me from going crazy during exams, thinking about seeing everyone?'

'Not just seeing us?'

'Thinking about seeing you and Dad and Gram just made me want to cry because I miss you. I want to go into the kitchen and have Dad make me one of those ridiculously sugary candy mudslides. But thinking of seeing everyone, that made me excited so I could share my stories with the big girls too, the kind that would make Dad lose his mind if he heard them.'

Beckett laughed, then studied her tired eyes. 'Lexie, how much sleep have you gotten in the last two days?'

'A few hours here and there.'

'I may have to put my foot down and tell you to get some rest.'

'What would be the point in that? All I'd be doing is thinking how I should be here with you and my brother.' Alexis grinned as she watched Beckett switch sides. 'Does it hurt?'

'So far, not really. One of the girls said that the baby sucked her nipples raw when she was breastfeeding but I can't remember who. You won't do that to Mommy, will you RJ?' she cooed at her son. He'd closed his eyes, as if to concentrate on getting his fill and Beckett brushed her finger over his cheek. She still couldn't believe this was the beautiful creature that she'd chatted with and made friends with the last nine months as he'd grown inside her.

'Where's Dad?'

'He took Ryan to get him some coffee. Dell being up at all hours has thrown his sugar out of orbit, and he wants to make sure that Ryan's handling everything okay.'

'What about Jenny?'

Beckett flexed her toes as RJ continued eating. 'She's doing really well, from what I understand. She's not allowed to have any visitors just yet because she had surgery, but I heard Ryan say that by about lunch time or so today, she should be good to go. Me personally, I just want to go home, you know? I want to be at home with my husband and my kids.'

'That's such a mom thing to say.'

'It's also very true. I want to be in my own space, you know?'

'I understand. It was like when I was first in England, it took awhile to think of it as my space and not just a room in an apartment I was renting.'

The door opened and Castle walked in with a tray of food and Harvey following him in. 'I found this new daddy wandering around in the cafeteria and he invited me for breakfast before I came on shift at seven.'

'Turns out he digs apple cinnamon pancakes just like you do, Lex,' Castle told his daughter, giving her a warm kiss, then turned his attention to Beckett. 'And how's our boy this morning?'

'Hungry, but I think he's almost done his milkshake for the morning.' Beckett felt the infant's mouth slide away from her breast, gave herself a little poke. The flesh felt soft and supple and she knew he'd gotten his fill. It was one of the many tips she'd had her friends who were all mothers write down for her about the first twenty-four hours of being a mom. 'Yep, time for a burp.'

'Can I try this time?' Alexis asked and Beckett nodded.

'Sure. Here.' She draped the receiving blanket on her daughter's shoulder, showed her the same technique the nurse had shown her for bringing up the air bubbles. 'That's it, you got it.'

'There we are, RJ,' Alexis crooned, gently rocked back and forth while she patted her brother's back. He was so tiny, was all she could think, such a little guy. 'Come on, let one rip like Daddy.'

'Hey...no you're right,' Castle conceded as he passed Beckett a glass of juice. 'That burpiness he gets from me.'

'Burpiness. Wow, good thing your career doesn't depend on your vocabulary.'

'Funny lady.'

'Before I begin this lovely meal you've offered to share, I must do a quick little check, Kate.' Harvey pulled a pair of latex gloves from his white coat pocket while Beckett assumed the position. 'Very quick, just to see how you're healing.'

Beckett closed her eyes, breathed deeply. 'Oh, that's a little cold,' she grunted when she felt the doctor's fingers check between her legs.

'Well you're bruising up quite nicely and your uterine walls and cervix are beginning to reshape themselves. I'll need to do a full exam but I'd guess that by Valentine's Day you and your husband can be fully intimate again.'

'Overshare, Doctor Harvey,' Alexis laughed. 'I know they do that stuff, otherwise this little guy wouldn't be here, but I don't need to _know_ they do that.'

'Well, overshare or not, I know that despite how you might be feeling right now, many couples fear intimacy will disappear when they have a newborn and yes the adjustment is tough, but on the other hand, there's a whole new level of it you get to enjoy with each other which a lot of couples are eager to explore.'

Castle instantly thought of Esposito and how he'd been chompig at the bit to get his hands on Meredeth after Tessi had been born. 'Valentine's huh? So that means no...anything?'

'Okay, I really don't want to hear this so I am going to take RJ for a little walk,' Alexis decided, and with the baby in her arms, zipped into the hallway to finish burping him. 'No, we don't need to hear about how Mom and Dad made you, do we? No, that would send us into therapy already, and you are barely a whole day old.'

She looked around, saw the door to Honey-Milk's room open, so she and RJ took a little stroll. 'What do you say we go and visit, huh?'

Since RJ's response was a solid little burp, Alexis took this as a yes and they walked the fifteen feet to the other maternity suite; she stuck her head in to make sure a visit was okay.

'Knock-knock,' she called out softly and smiled when she saw Ryan back in his street clothes beside Honey-Milk while Dell sat on the end of the bed and the new mother held the little girl in her arms, nursing her gently. 'The doctor's in with Mom so we thought we'd come for a visit. I can go, though, if you're busy.'

'No, no, she's almost finished.' Honey-Milk pulled the blanket discreetly over herself so she wouldn't embarrass Alexis.

'Hi RJ, Hi Alexis.' Dell waved brightly, feeling great from the sugar boost of his insulin injection. His sleep pattern was thrown completely off and he knew he would need an extra long nap. 'We are having buh-reakfast with my new little si-suh-ter. She eats from Mama buh-reasts, 'cause that's where the milk is to get her big and suh-trong like me. Did you have buh-reakfast already, Lex?'

'Yes I did, I had pancakes, and RJ had milk just like...I'm sorry, I don't even know her name.'

'Oh. silly Dell!' The little boy gave his head a little tap. 'Alexis, RJ, this is my little si-suh-ter, Mallory Agatha Ryan. I got to name her.'

'You did?'

'Uh-huh. Mama and Daddy pick out Agatha after my nana and I pick out Mallory.' Dell leaned over, studied his sister. 'She almost done, Mama, I wanna hold her.'

'Almost, honey. She has to be burped and then she'll be ready to visit.'

'I got to hold her when she wasn' even an whole hour old,' Dell informed Alexis proudly. 'She is my little suh-now-fuh-lake and she and my Tessi are gonna best fuh-riends. We gonna puh-lay Legos together, and do artwork together, and go suh-wimmin' together, all kinds of adventures.'

The word _swimming_ triggered a thought in Alexis head as she shifted RJ from one shoulder to the other. 'So who won the baby pool?'

'Ah, let me think. It was Karpowski's boy Newman who won for Beckett, seven hundred and change, and Shane Weaver from the ME's office on Jenny here, a cool five-fifty,' Ryan told her, putting a towel on his own shoulder as Mallory finished nursing and was in need of a burp. 'Have you met Shane?'

'No.'

'He's a nice guy, always our second pick after Lanie if we tag a body, though Esposito likes to spar with Perlmutter. In some sick perverse way it makes him happy.' Ryan paused, thought on it for a minute or two. 'He'd have some great insight on medical school, too, just like Lanie. If you want, I can give you his contact information, you two can touch base before you go back to England after Christmas.'

'Thanks Ryan, that'd be fantastic.' Now it was Alexis who paused. 'He's not like single or anything is he?'

'He is, and a decent looking guy but way too old for you. If I set you two up, your father would do things to my body only my wife is allowed to do in a fun way,' he teased her, glad to see her laugh. 'So no school girl crushes, okay?'

'I'll try to control myself,' she said with a dry smile.

'Lexie, you sit down.' Dell hopped off the end of the bed and dragged an extra chair over to the side of the bed, patted it with his hand. 'You should sit while you holdin' onto RJ.'

'Or she can walk him down to his room,' Castle commented from the doorway. 'Lex, we're finished with the doctor if you want to come back.'

'Oh, we were just having a little visit, and RJ's fine, he has been asleep almost the entire time.'

'Really, Castle,' Honey-Milk added from her spot on the bed, passing Mallory to her daddy as she covered herself back up. 'I've still got a big ol' catheter in me and can't get out of bed yet, so the mountains are coming to Mohammed, as it were. And truthfully, Lex and RJ are our first visitors.'

'Lexie is very polite,' Dell chipped in helpfully. 'She doesn' dis-uh-turb Mallory.'

'Mallory? Oh, is that the name we decided on?' Castle was momentarily distracted as he went over to see the baby.

Dell nodded. 'Yes, she is Mallory Agatha Ryan and I got to help pick her name.'

'That's quite an honour, Dell.'

'I am the best big buh-rother ever in the world.'

'That's a pretty bold statement.' Castle glanced up from looking at Mallory against Ryan's shoulder to look at Dell. 'Your daddy's a big brother to your aunts, and he's pretty cool. Same with Javi.'

'They are not as good as me.' Dell jabbed himself in the chest with his thumb. 'I am Dell Ryan.'

'Well there, best brother why don't you help me out and get a couple of the baby wipes from the box in Mama's bag?' Ryan asked.

The boy nodded and went searching while Ryan held Mallory on his shoulder. 'He's determined to do a good job. He loves Mallory so much, and has already decided her BFF is his little girlfriend.'

'Aw, that's so sweet.'

At the sound of his father's voice, RJ began to fuss a little so Castle came over, plucked him out of Alexis' arms. 'Hey little man, why don't we go and visit your new playmate.'

Alexis reached into her pocket, pulled out the camera to capture the moment - dueling papas with their babies.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	52. Home Once More

By the afternoon of December fourth, Honey-Milk felt a little bit back into herself. Mallory was catching on to the breastfeeding thing very quickly and Dell was so patient, it made her wonder if her child was actually human. He fetched her tissues, held things out of the way, folded blankets, whatever needed to be done. And never once did he get cranky that the new baby was getting so much attention or that sometimes he had to wait to have his questions answered.

But nothing compared to her husband. Honey-Milk didn't think he left the hospital once since they'd gone in the afternoon of the second; he just had his friends bring him fresh clothes and Daniel would sneak him into the staff locker room to get him a shower. He brought her flowers and her favourite box of tea, even the ridiculously expensive imported Reed's ginger beer for when she was able. He also didn't make a single jaunty comment about when she thought she need to pass gas and her bowels loosened in her disposable hospital underwear. Ryan had simply given her a supportive kiss and helped her to the bathroom to clean up and get changed.

If that wasn't love, what was?'

Now came a fun part - visiting her fellow Twelfth Precinct lady in the hospital as she prepared to go home. Again, Honey-Milk felt a little twinge of jealousy for her friend, but then, Beckett had given birth eighteen hours before her and hadn't needed a surgical procedure to do so. With Mallory in her arms and Dell walking beside her wheelchair, the whole Ryan family made their way to Beckett and RJ's room to find Beckett sitting in her street clothes with RJ in a car seat on the foot of the bed. He was in his little newbie snowsuit and proudly wearing his NYPD crest toque. She was cooing at her son as she adjusted the straps and wrinkling her nose in a funny face as only a new mother could.

'Just wait until you get home, little man, you are going to love your room. The bed is so comfy, you're going to want to spend all your naps there, unless of course, Daddy wants you to cuddle with him.'

'Nothing beats a nap on Daddy's bare chest,' Honey-Milk agreed.

The sound of her friend's voice had Beckett glancing up and smiling. 'Hey mama.'

'Right back at you.'

'You get to go home?'

Beckett nodded. 'Harvey said there's no medical reason for me to stay any longer and RJ's fit as a little seven pound, eleven ounce fiddle so he can go home as well.'

'Where's the rest of your crew?' Ryan asked.

'Alexis is at home making sure everything is tidied up for the new arrival and Richard is downstairs taking our luggage and our swag to the car. Our discharge papers have been signed and he's going to text me when he's at the front doors. Any word on when you and Mallory are getting sprung from this joint?'

'Not yet.'

'Mama needs to suh-tay here until her 'cision is better,' Dell explained, wandering over to the bed and looking at RJ. 'He kinda looks like you _and_ Misser Castle, Detective.'

'Thank you, Dell.'

'You think he's gonna like Tessi?'

'Of course,' Ryan chuckled. 'The entire universe revolves around the littlest Esposito, doesn't it?'

'She is my suh-wee-hot, Daddy.'

Beckett put a hand to her heart at the boy's romantic nature. 'Are you giving her a Christmas present?'

'Uh-huh. She really likes to read books so I am giving her a whole bunch of books that we can read together, even a dinosaur one. And she invited me to get her Chuh-ristmas tuh-ree with her next week. I save my money from the baby suh-wimmin' pool and I am gonna buy her a hot-dog with keshup.'

'I'm sure she'll love that.'

Beckett's cellphone chirp-chirped _I Fought the Law_ and she smiled. 'And now it's time for RJ and I to go home. We'll see you soon, though, right?'

'Yes. We need to have a baby party for RJ and Mallory. Can I say bye-bye?'

'Of course.'

Dell walked over and rather than giving the new baby a kiss, he pursed his finger together and bumped the tips against RJ's little mittened hand. 'Gotta feed those birds, RJ.'

'What a guy.' Beckett stood up, picked up RJ in his baby carrier - a gift from Martha when they'd finished the nursery - then gave Ryan and Honey-Milk each a hug. 'Thank you, for everything, really, I couldn't have asked for better friends going through this.'

'And to you, too. Being a cop and having a family isn't always easy, but...when you've got the right person, the tough times aren't so dark,' he replied. 'I've been through it twice now, Javi's hoping he and Meredeth will have another one soon, and now you're in the club too. We're a family.'

'Okay, you've already seen me go into labour and cry a bunch of times while I was pregnant, the last thing I need is for you to make me cry once more.' Beckett gave him one last hug. 'Thanks again.'

'We'll see you soon.'

Ready to face being a mom at home, outside the bubble of the hospital, Beckett shouldered her purse and picked up RJ in his car-seat, and headed for the elevators.

Downstairs, she shook her head when she saw her husband by the sliding doors of the hospital's main entrance, a bouquet of white hibiscus in his hands and a smile on his lips. They seemed to be smiling all the time lately.

'Who's that over there, RJ? Is that Daddy?' she whispered to her son as they walked over to meet him.

'There's my gorgeous girl and my handsome little prince.' Castle greeted his wife with a warm kiss, holding onto the flowers for her. 'We all set?'

'Yeah. The Ryans came by to say their good-byes. I hope our little guy finds a role model in you, but I really hope he and Dell Ryan become best buddies.'

'Oh yeah, him, Carey, RJ and Lili and Cam's little guy when he gets here, they could be their own Fab Four.'

'I can just see it now, RJ hosting them all for Go Fish night in our loft when they're like eight. And then when they're like eighteen, Dell and Tessi hooking up and playing poker one-on-one.'

'That's just...RJ, do me a favour, I hope you get my sense of humour and not Daddy's,' Beckett said to RJ, who merely yawned and smacked his lips together. 'Deal.'

* * *

The trip back to SoHo was shorter than she anticipated - though it was almost lunchtime, the overnight snowfall meant most were staying off the roads. Thankfully because Castle's Lincoln had four-wheel drive it was not nearly as dicey as it appeared to be.

Once home, they found Alexis not alone - Martha and Jim were both there, waiting with cameras and champagne, with the non-alcoholic variety for the nursing new mom. The loft smell of fresh linens and of the new baby, soap and talc and potential.

'Welcome home, my babies.' Martha held out her arms to them. 'Let's have a look at the man of the hour.'

Beckett's face was shining like the sun as she walked over to the couch, put RJ's car seat down. A few quick clicks and zips and he was out of his newborn winter coat, wearing his very warm flannel footies; they were a soft candy-apple red and read 'Little Heat' over the heart.

'Quite the pjs, he's sporting,' Jim observed.

'A gift from my agent,' Castle informed him. 'Paula thinks we could market a whole line of 'Baby Heat' t-shirts and onsies to go with the other Nikki Heat merchandise, but we agreed no baby merchandise, not this time.'

'A very good idea. Now, to the most important business.' Martha sat beside her daughter-in-law and motioned with her hands. 'Let's have a hold of this young fellow.'

Beckett took the baby out of his seat and passed her to his grams, careful to give his neck support. To her utter surprise, Martha began to weep a little.

'Oh, this brings back memories,' she warbled, looking up at Castle. 'You were about this size, Richard, but you had a lot more hair than RJ here.'

'Really.'

'Quite. As I was in the throes of labour, my doctor said it looked as though I was giving birth to a coconut with those long fine hairs of...whatever is on the outside of a coconut.'

'Even then I was hard-headed,' Castle laughed, then glanced over when he heard the footsteps on the stairs and saw Alexis there, her own expression almost matching the excitement on Beckett's. 'Hey, honey, the place looks great, thank you so much. I don't know what we'd do with out you.'

'Did I miss anything?'

'Nope, but I do believe it's Poppy Jim's turn to hold the baby,' Castle said with a stern look at his mother, who was visibly pouting over giving up her grandson to his grandfather.

Jim set down the camera he'd been using to film his baby's baby's first moments at home and rounded the couch to sit with Beckett. 'Let's have a look, there,' he murmured, taking the baby in his arms. He was a beautiful child, no question, and his eyes were the most gorgeous deep colour he'd ever seen. 'I think you're going to have Daddy's eyes, RJ.'

'You think so, Dad?' Beckett tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

'I do. What do you think RJ?'

RJ blinked at Jim, then screwed his face up into a massive sneeze that shook his whole body. He had about three seconds to look around before he scrunched up his face into a desperate wail. 'Oh, RJ, it's okay, there's nothing to be scared of, little buddy.' Jim tried to soothe the infant but it was a no-go. 'I think this is one of those times when only Mom will do.'

Beckett held out her arms and cradled RJ against her so that his ear was near her throat and he could hear the vibrations of her voice as she spoke. 'There, there, my little prince,' she crooned. 'It's okay, it's just a sneeze, nothing's going to get you.'

It worked, for his wails subsided into disturbed little whimpers as Beckett gently moved her body back and forth. 'Yeah, I know, it's so weird out here, isn't it?' She glanced up at her dad. 'How am I doing so far?'

'Oh, Katie-Lou, your mother would be so proud of you.'

'I know I am,' Martha added, then popped up off the couch. 'We need to bring lunch in here, I think.'

'I hope you guys didn't go to too much trouble,' Castle asked, knowing just how much of a disaster his mother was in the kitchen; Javier Esposito might have taken that gold medal but Martha Rogers was a damn close second.

'Please, I was lucky to put together an outfit I was so distracted by my babies coming home. No, your good friends at Pookaloo's cooked for us,' Martha informed them. 'We have their signature root-beer pulled pork sandwiches, garden salad, salt-and-pepper garlic bread, and for dessert, the fruit platter with lemon gelato and strawberries to go in our champagne.'

While Alexis and the grandparents went into the kitchen to finish assembling the necessary items for their meal, Castle sat down beside Beckett and pressed his hand against RJ's back. 'Is he asleep?'

'I think so.' Beckett craned her neck, looked down to see RJ's chest rising and falling. 'Yeah, he's out and he's not due for a snack until about one thirty.'

'Here.' Castle gently plucked their boy from her arms and put him in the car seat, where he gave a little lip-puckering smile in his sleep, cooed softly. He pressed a kiss to his son's forehead. 'Daddy loves you so much, RJ.'

He heard a sniffle beside him; head whipping around, he saw Beckett looking at him with a proud smile on her face through the tears beginning to fall.

'Oh, Kate, it's okay.'

Beckett burrowed against his chest as his strong arms came around her and she let it all out.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	53. Cozy Night at Home

'Okay, okay RJ, we'll get you changed.'

Beckett crooned to her son as he kicked and wriggled on the changing table. She could feel Alexis and Castle nearby but this she knew she wanted to get right on her own since her husband had already been through it once. To help calm him down, Beckett pointed the remote at the mini-stereo on top of the bureau and the nursery was filled with the sound of Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, her favourite from _Fantasia_ which apparently Carey and Tessi had both loved as well when their mamas were growing them as well.

It had the calming effect she'd prayed for and RJ was looking with his big dark blue eyes - her father had called it right, he had Castle's eyes no question - at all the things around him while Beckett attended to changing his diaper.

She winced a little at the smell and wondered how in the hell her breast-milk turned into that once he digested it, but then again she'd also learned to stop wondering how the Knicks were such losers and still sold out Madison Square Garden night after night. When his bottom was wiped clean and his protective coat of Vaseline applied, she couldn't resist tickling his feet. The sound he made, the giggling squeak, had her gasping.

'RJ, are you laughing?' She looked over where Castle was filming and Alexis was looking on eagerly. 'He's laughing! Look!'

With another tickle of the baby's feet, RJ was burbling happily and looked directly into the camera, gave his gummy little lip-pucker that passed for his smile.

'What a charmer. Takes after his daddy.'

'Hear that, RJ? Apples and acorns. Feed those little birds.' Castle held out his fingertips and smiled when RJ's waving hand caught them. 'Way to go, little man.'

'Where exactly did that come from, Dad?' Alexis began searching in the drawers for a pair of pyjamas for her little brother. 'Is that a Castle original or did you appropriate it from someone else?'

'It was a college thing, actually. Me and my roommate, Smithers-'

Beckett interrupted his story with a laugh. 'Smithers?'

'My third year at college, my roommate sounded exactly like Smithers from_ The Simpsons_. We all forgot his real name because that's what we called him. Anyways, he was a smart guy, in computer programming and would get hand-cramps like you wouldn't believe. Part of his excellent personal medical insurance included weekly massage appointments for his hands alone. So instead of making him high five all the time, we'd do that.'

'And now all our babies are carrying on the tradition. Okay, Mister Mouth, you are changed and dry and ready for jammies! Yes, you are.'

'Kate, can I try?'

Beckett glanced over at Alexis, who was holding up her brother's sleeper - a cute little thing from Meredeth and Esposito that read 'Read It and Weep, Daddy!' and had little playing cards dotted all over. 'Of course.'

Watching her daughter carefully, the detective was very impressed at how Alexis used quick and sure movements to slip the pjs on the wriggly infant, then fasten them and put her brother against her shoulder and walk around the room with him, humming to him the entire time. Beckett glanced over at Castle, who had a small glimmer of tears in his eyes as he watched his babies together.

'She's a natural,' he said in a gruff voice. 'She'll make a great mom, you know, when she's married and all.'

'I know.'

The group of them quieted down as Alexis put RJ in his crib, tucking him in with his blanket and the stuffed Harrod's teddy she'd purchased in England in anticipation of the baby's arrival, then slipped out softly with Beckett clipping the baby monitor to her belt. They went into the kitchen, the heart of the home; Beckett took a seat at the island while Castle put the kettle on for tea and Alexis fished her cellphone out of her pocket.

'I'd love to hang with you guys, but Sloan texted me earlier and wants to hear all about the baby and the birth,' Alexis told her parents, pouring herself a small glass of juice. 'You two don't mind if I head out?'

'Oh, Lex of course not, we don't expect you to automatically be home all the time with the baby.'

'Good, because I love RJ so much but I want to see my friends before I get back to England after New Years, and once December really kicks in, it's going to be a whirlwind.'

'Just as well because I'd like a night alone with Kate,' Castle returned with a smile, warmly rubbing his wife's arm, then laughed when Alexis made a face. 'Relax, Prissy-Pants, we're not kicking you out of the house so we can do it. I'd just like a little at-home time with my wife.'

'Aw, see that's so cute.' Alexis' cell peeped at her and she read the text. 'I'll be home by one.'

She darted off and Castle took the opportunity to make the tea for himself and Beckett, added milk and sugar where necessary. 'That girl hasn't had a decent night's sleep in nearly a week, I doubt she'll make it to ten pm.'

'Oh I don't know. When I was studying for finals in university, I didn't so much sleep as nap between study sessions and exams, and...wait, what's that?'

Beckett's keen hearing listened for RJ's gurgles through the baby monitor, which looked more like a white walkie-talkie; she cocked her head to the side to listen in case he started to fuss. 'You think he's okay?'

She waited a moment, then heard Alexis' voice whispering good-night to her little brother and let out a little breath. 'It's just Lex.'

Castle could only laugh and shake his head. His tough-as-nails cop had become a 'shmellow-hearted new mommy and it looked so damn good on her. Sure he knew she was concerned about the weight she'd put on, but after hearing tales from Esposito about the emotional hell Meredeth went through about her body he knew the route to take so that he was both supportive and non-patronizing.

'He's just fine, Mommy, and the tea is ready, so come with me.'

Having loaded up a coffee tray with the lunchtime leftovers and their tea, they went to the living room, sitting close together on the couch as the fire roared in the hearth. Beckett lay her head on her husband's shoulder, sighed deeply.

'Castle,' she murmured, 'we're parents. You're a daddy again, and I'm a mommy.'

'I'm so proud of you, Kate. I love you even more, though I don't see how that's possible. How are you feeling, overall.'

'Excited, scared, overwhelmed. I have a little life to take care of now.'

'_We_ have a little life to take care of,' he corrected her with a smile and a kiss to her temple. 'And lucky for you, I've kind-of done it before.'

'Kind-of?'

'I had a daughter the first time around, remember?'

Beckett giggled. 'Okay, I'll give you that,' she smiled. 'And yeah, I know you'll be there and sharing the parenting thing, we're a team after all, but I mean there's at least one thing I can do and you can't.'

'It's called a breast-pump, and I hope you get one when you have a baby shower.'

'Next week, after we have the one for Honey-Milk. I'll be drowning in swag.'

Castle had to literally bite his tongue to hold back the laugh: Meredeth Esposito was holding a double baby-shower at her home in Chelsea and had cleverly told the two new mothers it was for each other so they could both be in on the planning. It was a genius idea, really; she'd used it before when Lanie had been pregnant with Carey and they'd had a joint birthday party for Cam and a baby shower for her. And because both women would focus on the surprise for the other, neither would suspect it was for them too.

Before he could make a non-committal noise, Alexis bounded down the stairs in her winter coat and warm looking toque. 'Okay, I'm off for the night. I gave RJ a kiss goodnight and I have my cellphone on me. I should be home around midnight.'

'You and Sloan going out on a pub crawl?'

'Dinner, maybe some live jazz or something. She's into that whole bohemian scene and it sounds fun.'

'Stay safe, call when you're on your way.'

'Okay. Love you guys.' Alexis left, locking the door behind her and leaving her parents to their own devices; she prayed they'd behave themselves in her absence.

Truly alone now, Beckett snuggled up with Castle. She liked to snuggle with him when they were alone like this, a side of her she almost never let through at work, and he was such a cuddly kind of person. It had taken her a little bit to realize that, but once she had, she realized the intimacy of being in his arms - of waking in them - was a far more potent magic than most could dream of.

'Richard.'

'Katherine.'

'Was I...was I a good pregnant wife?'

'Were you a good pregnant wife?' Confused, Castle set his tea down and looked at her face, bathed in the soft glow of firelight.

'Yeah, I mean, was I nasty to you or a total bitch, did I let my hormones do all the thinking and acting and talking for me?'

'You weren't nasty or a total bitch, but there were times when you were...perplexing.'

'How do you mean?'

'Well one moment that springs to mind was the night we had cards here and you were so confused as to why you were crying.' He shifted slightly so he could wrap both his arms around her body. 'You were so baffled by your own hormones I had no idea what to do for you.'

'I remember that. Captain Montgomery dried my tears for me,' she remembered with a little blush. 'I was still getting used to being pregnant, I hadn't anticipated my hormones making me cry at the drop of a hat like that.'

'What, you were thinking that you'd just be some kind of little horny toad?'

'Well that's what I remember Esposito bragging about when Meredeth was pregnant.'

'Yeah, probably so he wouldn't let you know how many times he'd soothe his wife's tears with a kiss, a cuddle and a cup of tea. Besides every woman's pregnancy is different and her hormones do different things to her state of mind. Remember, Evil Meredith didn't want me to touch her the entire time she was pregnant.'

Beckett furrowed her brow. 'I thought that was because she didn't want to have sex with you.'

'No, even this-' Castle gestured to them cuddled on the couch '-would have sent her into a fit.'

Beckett couldn't imagine the feeling of being pregnant and not wanting her husband's touch, however innocent, on her body. She sighed deeply, then sniff. 'Richard, can you smell that?'

'No?'

'I think...oh shit.' Beckett looked down at her top and saw the wet splotch on her breast. 'I leaked.'

As if he could sense the presence of milk in the apartment RJ began to whimper a little in the nursery, his little cry coming through loud and clear on the baby monitor. 'I'll go,' Castle offered,' you can go and tidy up.'

'No, that's the dinner bell he's ringing. He needs to fill the tank.'

She gave him a kiss and went upstairs to the nursery where her son waited for her. His little whimpers lessened when he scented his mother nearby, and he blinked his big dark eyes open in the dim light.

'There, there, my love,' she crooned. 'I know, it's already time for another top-up isn't it?'

Beckett picked up her son, then took him downstairs along with her nursing pillow, another gift from Meredeth and Esposito. Her husband was still waiting for her on the couch and she sat back down beside him with their boy, who latched himself to Beckett's breast the moment it was within striking distance and the three of them spent the next few minutes simply enjoying each other's company.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	54. Going Home

'Dell, can you hold that for me, baby?'

'Yes Mama. How is Mallory?'

'She's just great, napping like an angel.'

Dell put the strap of his mother's purse over his shoulder like it was a back-pack and stretched to the balls of his feet to have a look at his little sister. She was so cute, like a little squishy potato-baby. She had dark eyes and they'd most likely be blue like his - their mother had flecks of green in hers - and the same nose as him, too. It made his four-year-old heart so proud his parents had given him such a pretty sibling.

Now it was time for his baby girl to go home and Dell couldn't be more excited.

'Mama, why you carry a purse?'

'Same reason you carry a backpack with your insulin kit, Dell.'

'So you have your things in case you need'em.' Dell pursed his lips together. 'I get it. So...Mallory's diaper bag is like her purse?'

Honey-Milk laughed; her little guy was too smart. 'Something like that.'

Andrea swung into the room, pushing a wheelchair. 'Your chariot awaits, madam.'

'Thanks.' With the baby in her arms, she sat down wincing slightly. The surgical scar was healing well, Harvey had said and it was itchy as hell, between the fact it was in her bikini zone and the fact the skin was knitting itself back together. 'Dell, hand Andrea my purse please.'

'Here you are Andrea.'

'Thanks Dell. You want a hand with your back-pack?'

'No thank you, I've got it under con-tuh-rol.'

'He's very independent,' Honey-Milk informed Andrea as the four of them went to the elevator. 'Kevin and I are going to take him to that clinic next March for children who have chronic conditions, so he can learn to give himself his shots.'

'That's a great idea. It'll definitely give him a sense of security to know that he can do it himself and he's self-sufficient.'

'I am a big boy, Andy, I don't cuh-ry anymore at nee-dells. 'Cept if the doctor needs a buh-lood test but those really hurt.'

'I'll tell you a little secret, I don't like getting needles either,' Andrea whispered at him and Dell's eyebrows drew together.

'But you are a nurse like Mama, Andrea. How do you do your nursing job?'

'I am okay giving them to other people, but I don't like it when I have to get them done on me.'

'Oh. That's funny.'

The elevator doors opened and Honey-Milk didn't have to look up from her perfect little girl to know that Andrea's day had just improved exponentially: Nurse Daniel Brick was texting in the elevator. He waved to them, straightened up when he saw his girl pushing their colleague and friend into the elevator with her kids.

'Hello, Nurse Buh-rick,' Dell gave him a friendly wave, squinted. 'Did you get bigger?'

'No, I don't think so. You're getting taller on me, though.'

'I've been eatin' my veggies.'

'It shows.' Brick bent, then made a show of groaning as he picked up the boy. 'Oh man, you got rocks in your pockets or what?'

'I have a dinosaur in my backpack.'

'That explains it. I'm going on break,' he said to Andrea, 'you want me to snag you something from the cafe?'

'Juice and club soda.'

'What kind of juice?'

'Surprise me.'

Dell studied, listened to the way they interacted. 'Andy?'

'Yes Dell.'

'Is Nurse Buh-rick your boyfuh-riend?'

'Dell,' Honey-Milk admonished her boy lightly as Mallory cooed in her arms. 'That's impolite.'

'But they sound like you and Daddy.'

'Yes Andy is my girlfriend,' Brick confirmed for him, making Andrea do an excited little shimmy she knew Honey-Milk couldn't see. 'What about you, bro, you have a special lady in your life?'

'Uh-huh, her name is Con-suh-tance Tessiana Marie Esuh-posito. I call her Tessi, and I'm gonna marry her when we're big enough.'

'I remember her, she's getting big.'

'She is very puh-retty and she likes Legos.'

The elevator doors opened once more and Andrea shoved Honey-Milk's wheelchair out after a quick peck of lips on Brick's cheek. 'Come on there Romeo, let's go find your daddy.'

'I'm not Romeo, Andy, I'm Dell.'

It was the sight that greeted Ryan as he waited by the doors of Saint Vincent's - his wife and son sharing a smile with the newest little Ryan in their midst. Had anyone told him this was what he would get when he and Honey-Milk had a quickie wedding, he wouldn't have believed himself to be so fortunate. Now he had the prettiest wife and the most beautiful children on the face of the planet.

When Andrea wheeled Honey-Milk and Mallory up, with Dell walking proudly beside them, he gave them both a grin and crouched to pick up Dell.

'We met Andy's boyfuh-riend in the elevator, Daddy.'

'Did you now?'

'Uh-huh.'

'Daniel sends his hellos,' Andrea added, watching Honey-Milk carefully as she stood up. 'Okay, you know the drill. Lots of rest, don't scrub the area near your stitches, and even though you didn't have a push-birth, you've still got the open-placental wound so you'll want to wear your pads for the next few days or so.'

'Thanks for everything, Andrea.' Ryan held out a hand.

'It's what I do.'

'And, if you and Brick felt like popping in for a visit, that'd be cool,' he added with a wink that made the pretty nurse blush ruby.

'I'll keep that in mind.'

'Daddy, I think she is gonna marry Nurse Buh-rick,' Dell told Ryan as they walked out to Honey-Milk's waiting car. They'd been able to keep the hybrid when they'd moved, as the seller of the apartment had been willing to take their bargained offer and though Ryan occasionally pondered the usefulness of a car in Manhattan, today was not one of those times.

'Ah, my little matchmaker. How's our little lady-bug doing, honey?' Ryan asked as Honey-Milk put Mallory in her car-seat beside her brother.

'Just great.'

'Mama, not to worry, I will watch her while Daddy duh-rives us all home. Hear that?' Dell leaned over and gave his sister a little tickle on her tummy; she barely flinched she was so into her nap. 'You get to see your home.'

* * *

'Look, my marsh-Mallory-mellow, this is our living room, and our couch, and our TV set, and-'

'Easy, baby, she's still sleeping.'

'But I gotta tell her and teach her what everything is.'

Ryan had to laugh at his boy's enthusiasm, so excited to share everything with his little sister when they walked through the door of the apartment. He had reports from his own parents that when his sisters Kelsey and Dana were first born he was just this button-bursting proud. 'Dell she's not even a week old, I don't think she even knows her own name yet.'

'She knows our voices, right?'

'That's true, but when she was in Mama's tummy, she could hear us.'

'Really?'

'Yep.'

Dell followed his father into his bedroom, pulled his t-rex from his back-pack. 'I don't think so, Daddy, you're makin' that up.'

'No it's true, you know how I know?'

'How?'

'When the nurses first brought her over so Mama could see her, she was crying-'

'Why?'

Ryan scrubbed his hand over his face; this was the downside of having such a bright child, they wanted to know every damn thing. 'Because the outside world is a much cooler temperature than inside Mama, you know like when you get out of the bathtub?'

'Oh yes, Daddy, that feel very cold.'

'It's a little like that. Anyways, Mallory was crying because she was cold, so Andrea brought her over for Mama to see and as soon as Mama started talking to her, she stopped crying, and she stopped crying too when I talked to her.

'So she knows who Mama and you and me are, but just doesn't know we're called Mama and Daddy and Dell. She is very suh-mart for such a little thing.'

'It runs in the family. And now it's nap-time, you want a story or music?'

'Music puh-lease, Daddy.'

Ryan flipped on the bureau-topper stereo; soon the soft strains of Gershwin's _Rhapsody in Blue_ floated around the boy's room and he was snoring softly. Unbelievable still, he thought, that such a sweet little boy is my child. He left the door partially opened and went to the nursery, where he found his wife in her rocking chair and nursing the baby. Love swelled in his heart, pure and wholesome for the boy he'd just left and the girls he'd just come to.

'Hey,' he whispered and Honey-Milk glanced up. 'How's she doing?'

'Good, really good, she loves to eat,' she replied with a giggle. 'She's still trying to figure out her tongue placement and it's a little ticklish.'

'You don't giggle when I do that.'

'Dirty. And you're not trying to suck the milk out of my boobs when you do it, you're trying to put me in the mood so we can practice making a little one of these.'

Honey-Milk caressed her daughter's little head and sighed. It was so nice to have her family home after the stress of a hospital stay. When Mallory had her fill, she switched sides and when the tank was topped-up, Ryan held out his arms to burp the baby. Honey-Milk felt little tears well up in her eyes as she watched her cop, the big bad homicide policeman, coo like a total softie at his little girl.

'There we go my little sunshine, no nasty bubbles in your belly and now I think it's time for a nap.'

'Oh yeah, she was awake until the car-ride home,' Honey-Milk agreed.

Cradling her gently, Ryan put Mallory in her crib, tucked her in snugly before dimming the lights and kissing her brow. 'Sweet dreams, my lady-bug. We love you.'

Once Honey-Milk had given her a kiss as well, murmured her 'I love yous', she felt her husband's arm slip around her waist carefully as he closed her door behind them, the baby-monitor on his belt. 'And now it's time for us to rest as well.'

They went into their master bedroom and Honey-Milk stretched onto her back, the first time she'd slept like that in almost four months. Staring at the ceiling she ran her hands over her tummy, which was feeling very loose and jiggly.

'Kev,' she said in a small voice. 'I really did give birth to her, right?'

'Are you insane? I was there, you really did. What the hell would make you think otherwise?'

'Well, I was going on one of my little walks with Andrea, you know to get up and moving around to get my legs in working order right? We passed this one room where this woman had been in seventeen hours of labour and needed an emergency C-section, and her parents were telling her she didn't really have a baby, she had an operation.'

'Come here.' Ryan turned her onto her side so she faced him and gave her a sweet kiss. 'Honey, if this baby had come out your nose you would still call it giving birth.'

'So this was like an abdominal sneeze?' Honey-Milk laughed, then pressed a hand to her stomach. 'That's still a little sore.'

He pulled her close against him and ran his hand over her hip, just holding onto her. 'Just close your eyes, Jenn, get a little rest.'

'You know what would help?'

'No, I want to sleep too.'

'Please?'

Ryan looked at the hope in her eyes and relented; how could he resist that look? He cleared his throat and began to recite the one thing he knew would help her sleep right now.

'Twas brillig and the slithy toaves did guile and gimble in the wabe,' he began.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	55. Time for Celebration: 9 & 8 Days Old

'So what do you have planned with the boys while us women folk get to be a bunch of gushing mamas?'

Esposito smiled as he snagged a carrot off the tray of crudites while Meredeth finished putting out plates and cutlery. The guests for the baby shower had finished arriving with the exception of the ladies of honour, but part of the ploy to get both of them there at the same time had been so Ryan and Castle could meet Esposito since he would have the car for driving out to the Giants stadium. 'Oh the usual manly things, monster trucks and football, maybe grunt and whistle at a hot blonde like cavemen.'

'What, no beer-pong or hammering up drywall or auto-repair?'

'No, we save that for pre-birth baby showers,' he teased her, coming around the counter to wrap his arms around his beautiful wife. There were still days when he couldn't believe his good fortune that this amazing woman was his wife and the mother of his child, and hopefully soon, mother of his children. 'But they all end the same.'

'Oh?'

'Mm-hmm. I come home, we play with Tessi before she goes to bed, then it's time for Mami and Daddy to...play.'

Meredeth giggled in her low, sexy way that made Esposito's head swim. 'I do love to play with you.'

'Same goes.'

He turned her in his arms and gave her a steaming kiss, the kind that made her forget they were expecting a house full of party-guests in a very short time, hell the kind that made her forget her own name. Meredeth felt the blood bubble in her veins as his lips hit hers and wondered briefly if they had time for a little extra icing on the cake.

The fantasy was interrupted when they heard a throat being cleared; they glanced over to see Lili there, massively pregnant and rubbing her belly. 'Mere, you mind if I go lie down for a little while in the guest room?'

'Of course not, sweetie, you want me to wake you when Honey-Milk and Kate get here?'

'Sure.'

She waddled off and Esposito made a sympathetic face. 'Poor girl, she's really feeling it this time around.'

His phone chirp-chirped and he checked the incoming text - it was from Ryan_. Just left 25th subway, walking up the street_. 'Looks like you've got some new mamas headed your way.'

'Oh yea! Nothing I like better than throwing a party,' she grinned and gave him a steamy kiss. 'Well, maybe _one_ thing more.'

'You're making it very difficult to leave you right now.'

'I know, it's always _hard_ to resist you when you've got that look on your face,' she teased him, making him groan. 'Think about football, baby, that might help.'

It did, and as they said their 'love yous', he texted Ryan and Castle back simultaeneously. _Taking Artie out now._

He clipped the dog's leash to his collar and took him out to the curb where he saw the crowd of them coming up the street and couldn't believe Meredeth had actually pulled it off - both women thinking they were going to a baby shower for the other, and the rest of them in the know the entire time. She'd even gotten them to drop their gifts off early so they wouldn't look suspicious as their men met Esposito for the Giants game when they arrived on Sunday afternoon.

Arturo, being the inquisitive one, forgot about his reason to be outside and wandered over to sniff at the new additions when they were close enough, making Dell giggle.

'Artie, you leave our babies alone, they are very little, we have to puh-lay nice with them.'

'Good advice Dell. Come here, you.'

Beckett laughed as she put a hand on RJ's back while he snuggled against her breasts. He liked being cuddled up there, mostly because he could hear his mother's heartbeat she suspected. He was so big already, a whole nine days old and he loved being held close. 'That's called a puppy, RJ,' she told him, though he was sound asleep. 'That is Tessi's puppy and he's very big but he's very gentle.'

'He likes to suh-niff and tickle your toes,' Delll added, looking from one baby to the other. 'And he's loud but he's a big softie.'

'Yes he is,' Honey-Milk agreed, switching Mallory's carrier from one hand to the other. 'You want a dog like him when you're big enough Dell?'

'I think so.'

'Okay the dog's taken care of, so the men are off, ladies enjoy your afternoon of Christmas baking,' Esposito said with a wink to his friends that both the mamas missed. He jogged up the stairs and let Arturo into the house first, the signal to the others waiting that the guests of honour were there. 'Have fun.'

Honey-Milk and Beckett watched as Esposito jogged down the stairs to the Nissan and the men piled in, then drove off. 'One afternoon of manly bonding and suddenly they're the Dukes of Hazzard.'

'Come on, Mere's already waiting for us.'

They opened the door and stopped short when they saw the crowd of women in the living room, all yelling 'Surprise!' simultaneously.

'Oh my god, what is this?' Beckett asked in a delighted voice.

'Are you blind, they... oh!' Honey-Milk set Mallory down and pressed her hand to her mouth as she laughed.

The living room was crowded with people - Robina and Kelley, Carol Thornton, Lanie Carey and Violet, Tessi and Rosie, even Andrea was there, the grown-ups taking pictures as they arrived. Over the fireplace was a painted banner that read _Congratulations Kate and Jenny (Gotcha!) Happy Double Baby Shower_. The room was decorated with blue, pink and white, right down to the napkins and the colour of the soft cocktails while near the newly acquired Christmas tree, there was a little blue stocking that read RJ and a little pink one that read Mallory. In each of the chairs that book-ended the coffee table was a plethora of wrapped parcels and gift bags.

'I can't believe you guys didn't catch on!'

Both new mothers glanced up the stairs, saw Meredeth coming down with her video camera in hand, having cleverly concealed herself to get their reactions. She paused the recording to give them each a hug. 'You have no idea how much I was sweating getting this planned!'

'But...how?' Beckett asked, adjusting RJ against her body.

'Easy,' Alexis piped up as she helped Dell with his winter coat. 'She told each of you about the party and said that it was a surprise for the other one. Since you were both so wrapped up with your new babies, it didn't really take much more than that.'

'You knew?'

'Who do you think handed out the list of ideal baby gifts for the part-goers? Come on, Dell, let's go find some snacks.'

'And Tessi.'

Beckett shifted RJ to give Meredeth a hug. 'Thank you so much, Mere. I had no idea...oh, damn.' She waved her hand in front of her face to staunch the tears that were still springing up without warning. 'I thought this was supposed to stop after the baby came.'

'Your hormones are still finding their balance, sweetie, it's not the end of the world. I'd wake up sometimes to feed Tessi and after she was done just sob my face off or start laughing uncontrollably.'

'Just remember it's perfectly natural to have the weepies, but if you're feeling like this all the time, call the doctor,' Honey-Milk added. 'Now, I'm starving and I just bet there's a bunch of tasty treats here with my name on it.'

With the babies unwrapped from their snow-clothes, the gifts in each of the armchairs were moved and they took a seat. Once settled in, Tessi and Rosie each came up to them and gave them a plastic princess tiara with rhinestones and faux-satin sashes with 'Welcome Baby' printed in gold script. Tessi patted Beckett's knee, and tilted her head inquisitively so much like her father is freaked her out a little.

'Dat RJ? He dute.'

'I think so too.'

'Datie munch?'

'Munch?'

'She means hung-uh-ry, Katie,' Dell informed her brightly and took Tessi by the hand. 'Come on, Tessi, we are gonna find some snacks.'

Honey-Milk watched her little man go with his beloved into the kitchen, then glanced up when she saw the enormous Lili make her way downstairs. 'Hey, how you feeling?'

'Huge. This baby is going to be at least seven and a half pounds and still hasn't dropped yet,' she pouted, making her way to the couch. 'But today is for you and Kate so we're not going to worry about me. I've still got two months to go.'

Beckett nodded, then realized she could offer her comfort. 'I remember feeling that frustrated too, but mostly because I thought Rick was trying to baby me.'

'It's what our boys do,' Honey-Milk agreed. 'They're cops, they're protectors and the one person they want to protect the most from pain and hurt will experience the most excruciating kind in the name of love, so they do what they think they can to make us as happy as possible.'

'Datie! Denny! Munch!'

Tessi walked in proudly with a little plate loaded up with cheese and crackers and fruit, Dell following behind her and hovering like a little mother hen himself. He helped her pass the plate to Beckett, then took his own over to and for a brief moment, the women in the room wondered if in twenty-five years time they would be having a shower of another kind for these little sweethearts.

They passed the afternoon talking and eating and passing around the babies for holding, even letting the new big brother hold onto his marsh-Mallory-mellow; when Lanie asked why Dell called her that, he replied it was because she was so soft which had all the hearts in the room going to mush. When it came time for the presents, it wasn't a surprise that the Three Musketeers were back already.

'Great game, Mere, you'd have loved it,' Esposito told her, giving her cheek a kiss before giving his daughter a little peck as well. 'Are the men forbidden still or can we join in?'

'Join in, we're just about to do presents.'

'Oh sweet.' Always a fan of unwrapping shiny new things in brightly coloured paper, Castle parked himself on the floor beside his bride, who was babyless. 'Where's our little man?'

'Napping upstairs. He just finished his snack and now it's time for a break.'

'This one, on the other hand, she's little miss party-party,' Honey-Milk told her husband, who'd sat in the armchair with her. 'She's been awake and looking around at all these new sights since two.'

'Takes after me that way.' Ryan flicked a fingertip over Mallory's cheek and grinned when she cooed happily. 'I bet she's digging on all this loot.'

It was true - though the number of party-goers was small the amount of swag they were drowning in was remarkable. For Beckett it was more about the gadgets and the clothes in equal measure for a new baby entirely while for Honey-Milk it was all about dressing up the new little duchess since she had things like a baby-bath and a breast-pump and glass bottles for Ryan to participate in the feeding of the newborn. By the time the last one was unwrapped, both women were wondering the same exact thing - how the hell were they going to get it all home?

'Thank you, so much, all of you,' Beckett said, looking around at them with great gratitude. 'I never thought I'd be this fortunate to have a family like this.'

'Well, don't get too mushy on us yet,' Esposito assured her, his arm around Meredeth. 'There's something else on the tree for you both. Kev, Rick, give them a hand.'

The four new parents approached the beautifully decorated Christmas tree in the corner of the Esposito living room, searched high and low until they each found what they were looking for: a glass orb ornament, the one for the Beckett-Castles a bright crystal blue while the Ryans was cotton-candy pink, and a little note printed in silver calligraphy: Baby's First Christmas.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


End file.
